The Harpers Ferry Foundation is pleased to announce that its  bid to complete and restore a key historical “missing link” in the remarkable saga of Harpers Ferry WV, “the epicenter of the Civil War,” received a major boost Wednesday with the award of a $1,425,000 Federal grant to Harpers Ferry’s “Potomac Street Project.”  The funding was contained in the Omnibus Spending Bill passed by Congress on March 10, and signed into law by President Obama on March 11, 2009.

Harpers Ferry Mayor James Addy characterized the award as “a great achievement in our town’s history, allowing us to completely redo our most historic part of downtown.  We profusely thank Senator Byrd, our best friend, for including us in this congressional appropriation.  We are tremendously pleased that Congress has recognized the national significance of Harpers Ferry as the place where the civil war began, right on Potomac Street.”

The Potomac Street Project was created as a cooperative effort by the Harpers Ferry Historic Town Foundation, the Corporation of Harpers Ferry, and the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and has an estimated total cost of about $3.5 Million.  The $1,425,000 grant will be used to improve street drainage, bury utility lines, resurface the street with macadam and restore deteriorating sidewalks along the thoroughfare that was once the very heart of commerce in Historic Harpers Ferry, WV.

Potomac Street in Harpers Ferry was also the location of the now-vanished Federal Arsenal, the site of John Brown’s Raid in 1859.    Brown’s failed bid has been called “the spark that lit the Civil War,” and one of the most historically significant events in American History.   Despite its importance, however, most traces of the Federal Arsenal have disappeared.   However, the Potomac Street Project plan calls for the improvements noted above to blend with another planned Town/National Park cooperative initiative to restore a portion of the Historic Armory Wall along Potomac Street.  In all of these endeavors, the National Park Service will conduct detailed archeological research and assure the historic accuracy of all sites and structures.  The overall intent remains that of providing a more interesting and meaningful experience for the hundreds of thousands of annual visitors to the Town and Park.

Donald Alexander of Harpers Ferry is Director of the Potomac Street Project, created under the auspices of the Harpers Ferry Historic Town Foundation under its president, Al Alsdorf, and Executive Director, Betsy Bainbridge, and in conjunction with the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, led by Superintendent Rebecca Harriett.

Alexander characterized the appropriation as a truly outstanding confirmation of Harpers Ferry’s rightful place in American history.   Alexander praised “wonderful and seamless partnership among local businesses, the Foundation, the Town of Harpers Ferry, the National Park in all aspects of this project.”

Members of the Potomac Street Project Team include Benjamin Roe, Patrick Morrisey, David Heise, Barbara Humes, Steve Lowe and Melinda Day.  The latter two members are employees of the National Park Service.

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