St. Peter's Catholic Church - Harpers Ferry, WV

St. Peter's Catholic Church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is in a beautiful location on a hill above the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.  It is a stone's throw from John Brown's ill-fated raid of the U.S. arsenal in 1859, an attempt to get arms in order to forcefully free slaves. The raid is considered to be the beginning of the Civil War. Harpers Ferry was bombarded heavily during the Civil War, changing hands between the Union and Confederate sides 14 times and St. Peter's was the only church in town not severely damaged or destroyed.  By contrast, St. John's Episcopal Church, located just uphill, was heavily damaged. St. Peter's was built between 1830 and 1833. We did not have an opportunity to go inside, something I really would have liked to have done. There is a great article on the history of St. Peter's Church here.

St. Peter's from a street below, framed in fall colors.

St. Peter's rests on a rocky platform on a steep hill. 

View of St. Peter's from below.

A side shot.

A rock path up to the church. Light is bad which gives it a washed out color.

The front of St. Peter's.

The confluence of the Potomac River (to the left) and the Shenandoah River (to the right) becoming the Potomac River thereafter. 

The confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah with St. Peter's in the foreground.

Ruins of St. John's Episcopal Church.

The confluence viewed from one of St. John's windows.

The entry to St. Peter's.

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

Side view of St. Peter's from the uphill side.

Outer view of inside stained glass.

Old buildings in Harpers Ferry just below St. Peter's.