Peter Smith

Loss of an important community member.

Peter Smith

Peter Smith

Historic Shepherdstown joins other community organizations in mourning the loss of Peter F. Smith. Over the past two years, we had the opportunity to work closely with Peter on the 250th anniversary commemoration of the Bee Line March. We got a first-hand look at his prodigious talents for organization and fundraising. But most importantly, we saw and experienced his deep-seeded love of community and his understanding of the importance of history to Shepherdstown and Jefferson County. We extend our condolences to his wife Vicki, a long-time board member, past president and docent coordinator for Historic Shepherdstown. Peter’s passing leaves a hole in the Shepherdstown Community. He will be greatly missed.

2025 – Historic Shepherdstown Holiday Ornament

Since 2015 Historic Shepherdstown in Shepherdstown, WV has been selling a holiday ornament each year. Each depicts historic buildings in Shepherdstown, from McMullan Hall to the Fireman’s Hall. You can get a copy at the Shepherdstown Holiday Market at the Entler Hotel, at the Museum which is open Saturdays 11-5 and Sunday 1-4, and at the office in the Entler,  Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 to 5,  304-876-0910. Or Historic Shepherdstown Holiday ornament.

This year’s ornament is the Fireman’s Hall. on the corner of New and  King Street.  Built in 1912, this red brick building of Gothic design with a square steepled tower at one corner housed the fire department. It also served as a community building, town hall, jailhouse, basketball court, sometime movie theater, and a gathering place for church suppers, bazaars, and entertainments by various religious and civic groups. After the fire company moved to a new fire house on Route 45 in 1987, the building remained empty for a time and now is privately owned.

Fireman's Hall, Shepherdstown

Fireman’s Hall, Shepherdstown

Speaker Series – In Their Own Words: The French and Indian War at Fort Frederick, MD, October 15, Robert Ambrose, Park Ranger – recording.

Historic Shepherdstown’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, October 15 at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education in Shepherdstown, WV, presented “In Their Own Words.” Drawing from primary documents, Maryland State Park Ranger-Historian Robert Ambrose explored the French and Indian War story of Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) by answering the simple and sometimes complicated questions of who, what, when, why and how.

Fort Frederick (Washington County, MD) is the only stone fort built (1756) by an English colony during the French and Indian War, and is one of the largest fortifications built by English colonists in North America. The 585 acre Fort Frederick State Park borders the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The state park is around a 19 mile walk or bike ride on the Canal Towpath from Shepherdstown.

Robert Ambrose has been employed with the Maryland Park Service since 2009, and at Fort Frederick since 2014 overseeing the largest living history program in the state park system. He resides in Berkeley Springs, WV, and in his spare time serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Berkeley Springs High School Football team. Since 1996, Ambrose has been involved in living history of various time periods from the 1750s to the 1950s.

Listen to Ambrose’s talk – In Their Own Words, the French and Indian War at Fort Frederick, MD.

Paranormal events at the Shepherdstown museum

 

Halloween is coming and that means it’s time for Shepherdstown’s BooFest and the Historic Shepherdstown Museum’s Ghost Tours.

Here, at the most haunted building in the most haunted town in America, you will hear about some of our most prominent spirits — the lady in white, the amorous Frenchman, Civil War soldiers, and the unlucky duelist.  Don’t miss the Traveler’s Room that, according to some, is the most haunted room in the building.

Join us for a free tour of the Museum and learn about some of the two dozen spirits that visitors have claimed to have seen, sensed and even felt. Tours will be offered on Saturday October 25, and Sunday, October 26, every half hour from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. (Donations are always welcomed.)

On Friday October 24th and Saturday October 25 evenings, follow local paranormal investigators Patricia Marin and Meredith Moore, along with psychic medium Angel Wells and dowser Les Johnson, as they explore the three floors of the museum. Tickets for these evening events are available are $15 per person. Preregistration is required and participation is limited.

Feel free to bring your digital recorders to capture EVPs (spirit voices) and EMF meters (which may help locate the spirits), along with any other equipment you may have.

Don’t be scared. Our ghosts are known to be friendly, but curious. At least up to now.

Tickets for the Paranormal Events are available here:

Paranormal Event at the Shepherdstown Museum – Friday October 24th

Paranormal Event at the Shepherdstown Museum – Saturday October 25

Undecided? Watch Halloween in Shepherdstown

Aren’t you curious now?

Bee Line March Commemoration 2025

Read more

Wallace Gusler, master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and an expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, presented Longrifles made by the Sheetz Family and others, September 13

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG MASTER GUNSMITH – SEPTEMBER 13 SEMINAR IN SHEPHERDSTOWN
Wallace Gusler, the first master gunsmith at Colonial Williamsburg and a well-known expert on rifles from Virginia and West Virginia, gave a talk entitled Longrifles Made by the Sheetz Family and Others on Saturday, September 13, at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, WV, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The seminar was given in conjunction with Historic Shepherdstown Museum’s exhibit of Kentucky Longrifles by the Sheetz Family and other gunsmiths of Jefferson and Berkeley Counties. Both the talk and the exhibit were being co-sponsored by Historic Shepherdstown and the Kentucky Rifle Foundation. Gusler showed  examples of Shenandoah Valley rifles and discuss the origins and members of the Sheetz family, who made rifles in Shepherdstown and other areas of the valley. The museum exhibit of rifles was open after the talk and every weekend until October 19th.
“Historic Shepherdstown is excited to host Wallace Gusler,” said Donna Bertazzoni, a Historic Shepherdstown board member who helped organize the longrifle exhibit. “He has been studying and building flintlock rifles, rifle makers, and the gunsmith craft since he was a teenager. His knowledge comes from both hands-on experience and deep research. He is one of the most skilled craftsmen of the era and his rifles are highly prized.”
Gusler is the first person in modern times to recreate the traditional processes of making long rifles by hand. He made Colonial Williamsburg’s first hand-forged rifle barrel, and in 1965, he made its first rifle fabricated entirely of hand-made parts from 18th century-style tools he made. He served at Colonial Williamsburg for more than 40 years.

Civil War Comes to Shepherdstown, September, 1862

Civil War comes to Shepherdstown

Speaker Series – Beyond Storer College Campus: The Early Roots of Black Community in Harpers Ferry, September 3, Lynn Pechuekonis

Lynn Pechuekonis

Historic Shepherdstown’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, September 3, 7:00 pm, at the Shepherd University Robert C. Byrd Center in Shepherdstown, WV, will feature “Beyond the Storer College Campus:  The Early Roots of Black Community in Harpers Ferry, 1867-1917.”

 

Author and Historian Lynn Pechuekonis will talk about the impact that Storer College, which educated thousands of African American students from 1867 until 1955, had on the Black community that evolved and thrived around its campus.  Storer’s policies and approach had a strong influence on Harpers Ferry to ensure that Black residents faced fewer race-based barriers than was typical in the region at the time. Pechuekonis will discuss the roots of this evolution and highlight some of Harpers Ferry’s enterprising and accomplished Black residents.

 

Her talk will be preceded by a short Historic Shepherdstown Annual Meeting at 6:45 pm.

Bee Line Marcher at the Historic Shepherdstown Kentucky Rifles exhibit.

  • Bee Line Marcher mannequin

    The Bee Line Marcher mannequin in the museum was donated to HSC by the Contemporary American Theater Festival. It was set up by Nick Blanton.

  • The hunting frock was loaned by Wallace Gusler and made by Eve Otmar.
  • The sash was loaned by Tim Hodges and made by Eve Otmar.
  • The rifle is by an unknown contemporary maker and was loaned by the Kentucky Rifle Foundation.
  • The powder horn and shot bag were made by and loaned by Roland Cadle.
  • The knife that is in the shot bag was made by and loaned by Tyler Mazer.
  • The very worn shoes were donated by George Suiter
  • The hatchet was made by Dan Tokar and Nick Blanton.
  • The pantaloons were donated by Blaine MacDonald
  • The shirt, stock and hat were from the Rumseian Society, courtesy of Nick Blanton
  • The rope stanchions to block off the mannequin were made by Nick Blanton

35 Star Flag for West Virginia statehood.

Grant received from Benedum Foundation for Historic Shepherdstown

Historic Shepherdstown is pleased to announce that it has received a $35,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. The funds are designated specifically for several projects inside the Historic Shepherdstown Museum and to promote the Shepherdstown Historic District. The full press release is here – Benedum grant for Historic Shepherdstown