Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Visitor Center plaza.

Millions of people from many walks of life have contributed their strength, ingenuity, and belief in the promise of this country to weave together the story of America. Join an HFPA educator to step into the world of Kate Field—a trailblazing journalist, lecturer, and entrepreneur—whose bold vision left a lasting mark on the nation. Discover how Field’s advocacy for the preservation of John Brown’s Fort helped safeguard it for future generations. Through storytelling and historical insight, explore her enduring impact on Harpers Ferry and the broader movement to protect America’s cultural landmarks for generations to come. 

Reservations are recommended.

Sponsored by the Harpers Ferry Park Association and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.  

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Visitor Center plaza.

Join a Park Ranger for a creative journey to the historically significant and immensely scenic Virginius Island. There, we will explore the park’s art history and then create our own art of the landscape.

Meet at the Green, across from the park bookshop, at 10 AM for a mile walk to the beautiful island, where you'll create art “en plein air.” Please bring your own portable art supplies, including seating arrangements and easels if needed. Sketchbooks and pastels are available on a first come, first served basis.

The program will conclude at 1 PM, but you are welcome to stay longer. All skill levels are encouraged to participate!

Cosponsored by the Harpers Ferry Park Association.

The U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry was established in the 1790s at the instruction of President George Washington. Drawing on the abundant water power of the town’s two rivers, the Armory became a center of innovation that shaped both American military readiness and the emerging American System of Manufacturing. Reflecting on its national importance, George Washington wrote in September 1799, “If the States are wise enough to keep united, I have no doubt of this arsenal being their principal place of arms.”  Join park staff and volunteers at the park’s oldest 18th century structure, Williamson’s Tavern, for a display and discussion of the earliest types of weapons repaired and made at the US Armory.

NOTE: This program DOES INCLUDE a historic weapons firing demonstration in Arsenal Square. Prepare children and pets for loud noises. 

At the nation’s 250-year mark, museum collections help us consider whose stories have been preserved and how Americans shape their shared narrative. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has a museum collection of more than one million items. This program showcases a special selection of those items—ranging from herbarium and geology specimens to archival, archaeological, and historical objects—that help tell the stories of Harpers Ferry. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to chat with park museum staff and learn more about the breadth and abundance of materials the park cares for in its collections.  Open house from noon – 2:00 pm.  Presentation from 2:00-3:00 p.m. 

Sponsored by the Harpers Ferry Park Association and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.   

Calling all Junior Rangers! Explore the many different jobs it takes to run a national park in this hands-on, activity-based program. Children will explore 7 different "duties" and earn their own Junior Ranger badge at the end.

America’s natural landscapes have shaped human experience and national identity across the country’s 250-year history.  During this two-part program, take a one-mile walk through Virginia bluebells and other spring wildflowers on Virginius Island with a park biologist . After learning more about how the National Park Service protects and preserves native plants in parks, join author Nancy Lawson (The Humane Gardener, Wildscape) as she illustrates how you can use native plants to add beauty, solve problems, and create habitat in your own yard. 

Reservations are recommended.

Sponsored by the Harpers Ferry Park Association and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.  

1:00: Viriginius Island Walk with park biologist. One-mile, mostly level walk on park trails through spring wildflowers.

2:00: How to (Gently) Fight Plants with Plants: Enlisting vigorous native plants to reclaim habitat. Author Nancy Lawson. What’s to love about native plants that grow “like weeds”? Everything! Many species valuable to birds, bees and other wildlife lie dormant in the seedbank, just waiting to escape the mower and sprout. In this presentation, we’ll discuss how to recruit these hardy troopers to help reclaim habitat. We’ll also explore strategies for removing problematic nonnatives without harming wildlife and their habitats in the process. We’ll learn about many native groundcovers, shrubs, wildflowers, vines and trees that can help hold ground, as well as methods of gradual replacement that eventually shift the balance toward more wildlife-friendly, native-plant-filled habitats. 

Discover how seed saving helped the young American republic grow productive kitchen gardens nationwide.

Purchase living heirloom seedlings and seeds through the Harpers Ferry Park Association to jump-start a heritage garden at home.