"shepherdstown west virginia" Shepherdstown by doug48

the area around present day shepherdstown was settled by virginia colonialists in the 1730's. in 1734 thomas shepherd was granted 222 acres of which 50 acres was set aside for the development of a town. the town was originally named mecklenburg and in 1798 was renamed shepherd's town. in 1775 general george washington issued a call for "virginia volunteer riflemen", captain hugh stephenson formed a company of volunteers from the shepherdstown area. on july 16 th 1775 this company began it's famous "beeline march to cambridge" which covered 600 miles in 24 days. in the 1830's the chesapeake and ohio canal was built on the maryland side of the potomac river just east of shepherdstown. just after the battle of antietam in the civil war every building in town were converted into confederate hospitals. between 1865 and 1871 shepherdstown was the county seat of jefferson county due to war damage to the courthouse in nearby charles town. the shepherdstown historic district is listed on the national register of historic places. shepherdstown is a very interesting place to visit for those interested in civil war and early american history. also shepardstown is a good location to stay on a visit to the nearby historic attractions of antietam and harpers ferry.