Supreme Court of the United States

Today at the Court - Saturday, Sep 7, 2024


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Did You Know...

A Wedding in Harpers Ferry


Robert Harper, the founder of Harpers Ferry in what is now West Virginia, built a stone house on a hillside overlooking the convergence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in 1782. Harper died before the home was completed, and ownership passed to his niece, Sarah (Harper) Wager. Fifty years later, on September 6, 1832, Wager’s granddaughter, Sarah Ann Wager, married future Justice Noah H. Swayne in the home. Swayne, then U.S. Attorney for the District of Ohio, would become President Abraham Lincoln’s first appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States and served from 1862 to 1881.

 

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Noah H. Swayne was born in Virginia in 1804, but his strong abolitionist views led him to move to Ohio.
Noah H. Swayne was born in Virginia in 1804, but his strong abolitionist views led him to move to Ohio.
Freeman Thorp, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
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While the Swaynes owned the home, it appears they never made it their residence. Today it is known as Harper House and is the oldest surviving structure in Harpers Ferry. During much of its existence, it was known as Wager’s Mansion and remained in the Swayne family until 1921. The house has been documented by the Historic American Building Survey.
While the Swaynes owned the home, it appears they never made it their residence. Today it is known as Harper House and is the oldest surviving structure in Harpers Ferry. During much of its existence, it was known as Wager’s Mansion and remained in the Swayne family until 1921. The house has been documented by the Historic American Building Survey.
Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States
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President George Washington selected Harpers Ferry to be the site of the nation’s second national armory, and it became a commercial hub when a railroad and canal reached it in the 1830s. Abolitionist John Brown led his unsuccessful raid on the armory in 1859, and the town became Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in 1963.
President George Washington selected Harpers Ferry to be the site of the nation’s second national armory, and it became a commercial hub when a railroad and canal reached it in the 1830s. Abolitionist John Brown led his unsuccessful raid on the armory in 1859, and the town became Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in 1963.
Courtesy of the National Park Service
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