John Brown House

John Brown rented a room in this house while preparing for his raid on Harpers Ferry.

Home of the famous abolitionist John Brown from June until mid-October 1859. Working under the pseudonym “”Dr. Issac Smith”” as an iron mine developer and Sunday school teacher, he formulated plans and secured weapons for his ill-fated 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. Visitors to Brown’s residence included co-conspirators Frederick Douglass, Shields Green, J. Henry Kagi (also operating under the pseudonym of John Henry), and other abolitionist leaders.

The oldest section of this building probably dates to 1820-1840. In 1849, it was purchased by Abram Ritner; following his death in 1851, his widow Mary expanded the building and opened it as a boarding house. Her most famous boarder rented an upstairs bedroom from June to mid-October, 1859.  John Brown lived in this house under the alias Dr. Isaac Smith, claiming he was a developer of iron mines. While here, he bought tools from a local business, Lemnos Edge Iron Works, and stored them, along with the weapons he was concurrently stockpiling, in a local warehouse.  These were later sent to the Kennedy Farm in Washington County, MD.  Brown was visited in Chambersburg by Frederick Douglas, Shields Green, and John Henry Kagi (the latter two members of his raid), as well as other abolitionist leaders. After the failed insurrection at Harpers Ferry, several raiders returned to Chambersburg, asking Mary Ritner to help them. She hid them in a nearby grove, allowing them to escape successfully.

The house evaded damage during the Confederate destruction of Chambersburg, being just outside the downtown area that was torched. Today, the John Brown House is open to the public for tours.