Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Majestic road trip
Looking at the Shenandoah above St. Peter’s RC Church
If you stand at the highest point of Harpers Ferry, West Virgina and look straight ahead, you will see the rocky facade of Maryland Heights. To your left, you will note the Potomac River. It flows down to this spot from up around Cumberland, MD. To the right, is the Shenandoah River and the state of Virginia. This is the confluence of the two rivers and it’s the Potomac that continues on down to Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Under Maryland Heights is a train tunnel, which was built in 1931. It gets plenty of traffic from the freight trains of the CSX Line, along with AMTRAC passenger trains, and during the week, add the MARC Line. At the high point, above Harpers Ferry, once stood a popular restaurant and motel – “Hilltop House Hotel.” Sadly, it it no longer in business and its prospects of reopening, according to one of the locals, is “dim!”
Bill Hughes is an attorney, author, actor and photographer. His latest book is “Byline Baltimore.” It can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/William-Hughes/e/B00N7MGPXO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1