Take a deep breath, climb Maryland Heights (1,448 feet) and clip a wide-angle lens onto your camera. That's the best way to get a leg up on a visit to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Thomas Jefferson described the view here of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers joining beneath the Blue Ridge Mountains as "one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature."
But the spot and the village nestled below claim attention for more than outdoor splendor. Here on October 16, 1859, John Brown seized the town's federal arsenal to build support for his abolitionist cause. The village also witnessed the largest surrender of federal troops during the Civil War, and became home to one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States.
These events remain alive today in Harpers Ferry's Lower Town Historic District. The John Brown Museum offers a video account of the raid, Mrs. Stripes' Boarding House recreates mid-19th-century lodgings, and the Dry Goods Store exhibits period clothing, hardware, liquor and groceries. National Park guides lead tours of these and other sites.
Top a visit with dinner and lodging at Hilltop House, which overlooks the valley. Dating to 1888, the hotel is famous for its fried chicken and offers rooms decorated with period antiques.
Harpers Ferry National Park, P.O. Box 65, Harpers Ferry, W.Va., 304/535-6209. www.nps.gov/hafe/. Summer hours: daily 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Winter hours: daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Hilltop House Hotel, 400 E. Ridge St., Harpers Ferry, W.Va., 800/338-8319. www.hilltophousehotel.net. Dinners: $10–$24. Rooms: $70–$155.