Morrell House, Columbia & Fillmore Streets, Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, WV

Significance: Originally constructed in 1857-58, the Morrell House was designed by Superintendent Henry W. Clowe for the Paymaster's Clerk. Originally, the Morrell House was identical to its neighbor, the residence built for the Superintendent's Clerk which was later dubbed the Brackett House. The Morrell House was one of four Armory officers' residences on Camp Hill granted in 1868 to Storer College, an early African-American college established during the Reconstruction era. After the building was transferred to the college, Rev. Alexander H. Morrell and his family were its first occupants. Rev. Morrell played an important role in the founding and early history of the college, so it was in his honor that the building became known as the Morrell House. In the decades following its incorporation into Storer College, a two-and-a-half-story stone masonry addition nearly doubled the size of the Morrell House. For over thirty years the building was used as a summer boarding house and hotel. Known as the Sparrows Inn and later as the Shenandoah Inn, the Morrell House catered to tourists and seasonal visitors who flocked to Camp Hill in Harpers Ferry around the turn of the century. A fire in 1942 virtually destroyed the stone addition, thus effectively returning the building to its original proportions. The Morrell House currently houses the main administrative offices for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-16

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N244

Survey number: HABS WV-171

Building/structure dates: 1858 Initial Construction

harpers ferry morrell house morrell house columbia fillmore fillmore streets harpers ferry jefferson county west virginia historic american buildings survey virginia b price storer college photo race relations african americans building plans architectural diagrams library of congress

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

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