Military
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George Washington established a Federal armory here in 1794 to increase the number of small arms for defense of the United States. The rivers powered the machinery, and the surrounding mountains supplied iron ore for gun barrels and hardwoods for charcoal and gun stocks. In 60 years, the armory manufactured more than 500,000 muskets, rifles, and rifle-muskets, and at its peak in 1850 it employed over 400 workers. In 1861, Southern forces transported the captured armory machinery to Richmond and Fayetteville, where it became the heart and blood of Confederate ordnance. After the armory was destroyed, Harpers Ferry's economy and fortunes declined. In 1892, the railroad covered the armory site with a 14-foot embankment, including the site of the fire-engine house, better known as John Brown's Fort.
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Lovettsville, Maryland · United States
