Book Description

"The Loudoun Heights Cultural Resources Inventory documented the remains of historic sites on Loudoun Heights, the northern-most extension of the Blue Ridge located in Loudoun County, Virginia, and Jefferson County, West Virginia. This wooded and steep-sloped tract overlooks the town of Harpers Ferry from the south bank of the Shenandoah River, with 482 acres lying within Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and 378 acres within the boundary of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. This project involved both archeological and historical research. Archeological fieldwork commenced in March 1988, and concluded in November 1988. Research revealed the cultural history of Loudoun Heights divided into three periods, characterized by industrial, military, and domestic uses. ... The archeological survey delineated eight Civil War campground areas. These campgrounds, likely occupied in 1862 by Federal troops for a total of five weeks, represent some of the best preserved Civil War encampments within the National Park System. This survey also documented six nineteenth-century domestic sites, which included a hotel complex and a substantial mountain spring developed by a brewery and bottling works in lower town Harpers Ferry."--Abstract, page xi.