National preserve, West Virginia, U.S., in the Blue Ridge at the point where West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland converge.
Authorized as a national monument in 1944 and a historical park in 1963, it covers 1,909 acres (772 hectares). It is located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers and consists primarily of the town of Harpers Ferry, W.Va. (pop., 2000: 307). It is the site of the 1859 raid by abolitionist John Brown , an incident that precipitated the American Civil War , and of several battles during the war.