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The Kennedy Farm is a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
property on Chestnut Grove Road in rural southern
Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...
. It is notable as the place where the radical abolitionist John Brown planned and began his
raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia), in 1859. Also known as the John Brown Raid Headquarters and Kennedy Farmhouse, the log, stone, and brick building has been restored to its appearance at the time of the raid. The farm is now owned by a preservation nonprofit.


Historic significance

The Kennedy Farm is a parcel of under of land on the west side of Chestnut Grove Road, a few miles north of
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
, in a rural part of southern
Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...
. It is part of a much larger farm property that was purchased in 1852 by Dr. Robert Kennedy. Kennedy took the small
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...
on the property, and mounted it on a tall (one-story in height) stone foundation, added a frame addition to one side, and covered both with a gabled roof. Kennedy died in 1858. John Brown arrived in Maryland in 1859 and rented the house. For three months Brown and his co-conspirators lived here, pretending to be exploring mining opportunities. Supporters arrived, weapons arrived, and they planned an attack on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in a bid to incite a slave rebellion. Conditions at the Kennedy farmhouse, described as "flea-infested", were spartan. The men slept upstairs on the floor. Brown's daughter Anne and Martha, Oliver's wife, who were there doing cooking and serving as look-outs, until Brown sent them home to New York on September 30, slept on crudely-stuffed mattresses. The wooden crates with weapons were covered and used for seats. Brown had to buy a stove in Harpers Ferry, as Anne failed at cooking potatoes in the fireplace. On the day of the raid, October 16, 1859, 19 of the 22 at the farm left to carry out the raid. Three remained at the farmhouse to guard and manage the weapons: Owen Brown, Barclay Coppock, and Francis Jackson Meriam, When it became clear the raid was failing, all three scaped to the north, Owen to his brother John Jr.'s house in northeastern Ohio. The farmhouse was searched immediately, and a trove of John's correspondence and many copies of his provisional constitution were found. These were much reported on in the press and played an important role in trying to find who Brown's financial supporters were. Except for the engine house at the arsenal, which the raiders held for less than a day, the Kennedy Farm is the location most associated with John Brown's raid. It has been added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.


Post-raid history

The house underwent a number of ownership changes, and significant alterations, over the next 100+ years. In 1950, the IBPOEW (Black Elks) purchased the property as a memorial to John Brown and operated it as their National Shrine. During the years leading up to their selling of the property in 1966, the Elks built several buildings on the then- property, including a by auditorium that was used as a meeting place for Elks gatherings of up to three thousand persons on Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends. The auditorium was rented on summer weekends by a local black entrepreneur, John Bishop, who booked into that venue dozens of the biggest stars of
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantl ...
on the
Chitlin' Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...
, including
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
B. B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...
,
Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of " C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa B ...
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,
Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, ...
,
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, and
The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/ soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in ...
. When it was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
in 1974, it was described as a -story house that used stone, brick and log construction with a
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
overlay. It had four bays, with a double-tiered porch running outside three rooms on the first and second floors. There were two rooms in the attic, and a small shed addition to the rear. An interior stair links the central rooms inside, and an exterior stair links the porch's two levels. The house then underwent a major restoration effort, funded by public and private sources, to return it to its 1850s appearance.


See also

* List of National Historic Landmarks in Maryland * National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maryland


References


External links

* *, including photo in 1976, at Maryland Historical Trust * {{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic house museums in Maryland John Brown sites Museums in Washington County, Maryland History museums in Maryland Houses in Washington County, Maryland Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maryland Historically African-American theaters and music venues Monuments and memorials to John Brown (abolitionist) John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry