Site
Prearranged, prepaid tours are currently available for groups of 1-9 for a tax deductible donation to the John Brown Historical Foundation of $250.00. Groups of 10 or more please add $4 for each additional person. 100% of the donation goes towards the costs and maintenance of the property.
John Brown Raid Headquarters Landing Page
History
Kennedy Farm, located in Washington County, Maryland, served as John Brown’s headquarters during his 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).
Along with a small band of followers, he rented the two-story Kennedy farmhouse, located approximately seven miles from Harpers Ferry. During the three months leading up to the raid, Brown divided his time between Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and this farm, living under the alias of Isaac Smith, a cattle buyer from New York. The Kennedy farmhouse served as the center of operations where Brown stockpiled weapons and studied local maps. He stored 15 boxes of guns and hundreds of pikes to arm future liberated enslaved recruits from the Virginia countryside.
Twenty-one men gathered at the farm in preparation for the attack just across the Potomac River. To not alarm neighbors, the men hid in the attic during the day and only emerged after dark. Brown’s family helped keep appearances by tending to the farm and household duties.