In our final event of the year relating to the Museum’s new exhibits on the John Brown Raid, the Civil War and Reconstruction in Jefferson County, local author Lynn Pechuekonis will present her research on the era of Reconstruction in Harpers Ferry.
The impact of Storer College on thousands of Black youth in the Reconstruction era has received a significant amount of attention by historians. Now, it’s time to turn attention to life off campus. Harpers Ferry became home to a thriving Black community after Emancipation – a place with low barriers to home ownership, exceptional schools, opportunities for entrepreneurship, integrated neighborhoods, and strong community structures. This program will examine the early Black community, using her research on the founding of the Hill Top House and the life of Storer’s longest serving Black teacher as windows into life during Reconstruction and beyond.
Lynn Pechuekonis is an author and historian who lives in the Harpers Ferry home originally belonging to Professor William A. Saunders of Storer College, and author of a biography of him entitled “Man of Sterling Worth.” Her current work-in-progress is a biography of the Thomas Lovett family, African American founders of the famous Hill Top House. Attend the presentation to get your copy of Lynn’s book signed!
