Allstadt House and Ordinary
Encyclopedia
The Allstadt House and Ordinary was built about 1790 on land owned by the Lee family near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
, including Phillip Ludwell Lee, Richard Bland Lee
and Henry Lee III. The house at the crossroads was sold to the Jacob Allstadt family of Berks County, Pennsylvania
in 1811. Allstadt operated an ordinary, or tavern in the house, and a tollgate on the Harpers Ferry-Charles Town Turnpike, while he resided farther down the road in a stone house. The house was enlarged by the Allstadts c. 1830. The house remained in the family until the death of John Thomas Allstadt in 1923, the last survivor of John Brown's Raid.
The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1985.
launched his raid on Harpers Ferry. Brown ordered a detachment of his forces under John Cook to go to Beall-Air
and take hostage the owner, Colonel Lewis Washington, and three of his slaves. On their return to Harpers Ferry with Washington the party stopped at Allstadt's and took Allstadt, his son John Thomas, and seven slaves prisoner. All survived the siege and liberation.
ed brick between timber uprights. The present structure was expanded from a -story house c. 1830. The original interior comprises only two rooms on the ground floor, each with Georgian period mantels. The upstairs portion comprises two rooms and a hall., with one fireplace. Windows are 6-over-6 double-hung sashes. A one-story kitchen was originally a separate building, now attached by a connecting room, probably at the time the second floor was added. A porch was added on the east side c. 1930, since removed.
A separate two-story stone building was built c. 1830, with a two-tiered porch on the south side leading to two rooms on each level. The attic is a finished, plastered room, accessible by a ladder.
A nearby stone bank barn
also dates to the 1830 period. The barn was used as a stable for the tavern's customers. The barn's overhang is supported by unusual chamfer
ed stone piers.
The Allstadt Cemetery is also nearby, serving as the central burial place for the extended family. Graves span the period 1821 to 1880, including the grave of five Russell family infants who may have died of diphtheria
.
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
, including Phillip Ludwell Lee, Richard Bland Lee
Richard Bland Lee
Richard Bland Lee was a planter, jurist, and politician from Fairfax County, Virginia. He was the son of Henry Lee II of “Leesylvania” and Lucy Grymes , as well as a younger brother of both Maj. Gen...
and Henry Lee III. The house at the crossroads was sold to the Jacob Allstadt family of Berks County, Pennsylvania
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
in 1811. Allstadt operated an ordinary, or tavern in the house, and a tollgate on the Harpers Ferry-Charles Town Turnpike, while he resided farther down the road in a stone house. The house was enlarged by the Allstadts c. 1830. The house remained in the family until the death of John Thomas Allstadt in 1923, the last survivor of John Brown's Raid.
The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1985.
John Brown's Raid
The house's chief historic significance came in 1859, when John BrownJohn Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
launched his raid on Harpers Ferry. Brown ordered a detachment of his forces under John Cook to go to Beall-Air
Beall-Air
Beall-Air, also known as the Colonel Lewis William Washington House, is a two-story stuccoed brick house in classical revival style near Halltown, West Virginia...
and take hostage the owner, Colonel Lewis Washington, and three of his slaves. On their return to Harpers Ferry with Washington the party stopped at Allstadt's and took Allstadt, his son John Thomas, and seven slaves prisoner. All survived the siege and liberation.
Description
The property comprises a small complex of buildings. The main Allstadt House (c. 1790) is a two-story L-shaped structure with a central brick chimney, built of nogging; stuccoStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed brick between timber uprights. The present structure was expanded from a -story house c. 1830. The original interior comprises only two rooms on the ground floor, each with Georgian period mantels. The upstairs portion comprises two rooms and a hall., with one fireplace. Windows are 6-over-6 double-hung sashes. A one-story kitchen was originally a separate building, now attached by a connecting room, probably at the time the second floor was added. A porch was added on the east side c. 1930, since removed.
A separate two-story stone building was built c. 1830, with a two-tiered porch on the south side leading to two rooms on each level. The attic is a finished, plastered room, accessible by a ladder.
A nearby stone bank barn
Bank barn
A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom...
also dates to the 1830 period. The barn was used as a stable for the tavern's customers. The barn's overhang is supported by unusual chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed stone piers.
The Allstadt Cemetery is also nearby, serving as the central burial place for the extended family. Graves span the period 1821 to 1880, including the grave of five Russell family infants who may have died of diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
.