Harpers Ferry’s most famous building isn’t a fort—it’s a fire engine house, and it’s been moved four times.

The small brick armory structure was the first building seized during Brown's 1859 raid to end slavery. By morning, over 40 hostages were held inside. After Brown's capture, the building became a symbol of his failed rebellion—and later, of freedom.

During the Civil War, Union soldiers revered the building, calling it a prophetic emblem. After the war, it became a tourist attraction. In 1891, it was dismantled and moved to the Chicago World’s Fair, but interest faded. Journalist Kate Field brought it back to Harpers Ferry in 1895.

Later moved to Storer College in 1910, it became a landmark for civil rights groups. After the college closed, the National Park Service moved it again in 1968—within 100 feet of its original site, which is now buried beneath a railroad embankment.

Someday, it hopefully will return to its original home.