Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town, West Virginia City of Charles Town Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town Location of Charles Town in West Virginia Location of Charles Town in West Virginia Named for Charles Washington Charles Town, officially the City of Charles Town, is a town/city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, and is also the county seat. The populace was 5,259 at the 2010 United States Census.
Charles Washington, the founder of Charles Town, was born in Hunting Creek, now Fairfax County, Virginia on May 2, 1738.
The estate of Charles Washington, Happy Retreat, was erected in 1780.
In 1786, on 80 acres (320,000 m ) of his adjoining land, Charles laid out the streets of Charles Town, naming many of them after his brothers and one after his wife, Mildred.
He donated the four corner lots at the intersection of George and Washington Streets for enhance buildings of the town and county, provided the town turn into the seat of the county separated from Berkeley County.
In 1794, James Madison married "Dolly" Todd at Harewood, the home of George Steptoe Washington, son of Colonel Samuel Washington, just outside Charles Town.
Jefferson County was formed in 1801 as Charles Washington had anticipated.
Charles Washington died sometime between July and September, 1799, only a short while before the death of his brother George.
In 1844, the first copy of the Spirit of Jefferson journal was presented in Charles Town by James W.
On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and his followers raided the Federal arsenal at close-by Harpers Ferry, seven miles east of Charles Town.
The insurrection was ultimately put down and John Brown was tried for treason in the town's Jefferson County court home.
On December 2, 1859, he was hanged in Charles Town at the Gibson-Todd House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
During the first two years of the American Civil War, the front lines of the Union and Confederate armies in the region fluctuated and the town incessantly changed hands amid the military engagements in the encircling areas with the town first occupied by Confederate troops, then Union troops, then back to Confederate until 1863 when Union troops occupied the town on a permanent basis for the remainder of the war.
In 1883, the Valley Telephone Company was incorporated in West Virginia and began installing telephone lines throughout Jefferson County.
The company's chief office was in Charles Town.
He was tried in the Jefferson county courthouse in Charles Town and was found not guilty.
The Charles Town Race Track first opened in 1933.
It was assembled on territory purchased from the Charles Town Horse Show Association.
In 1975, the new Jefferson Memorial Hospital opened, replacing the old Charles Town General Hospital.
In 1999, the Charles Town Race Track underwent primary renovation which encompassed a large addition to home video slot machines.
It was retitled Charles Town Races & Slots and now attracts many visitors each week from the close-by Baltimore and Washington D.C.
(FOHR), purchased an option to buy the former home of Charles Washington outright.
The goal of this group is to see Happy Retreat preserved as a nationwide historic treasure while at the same time contributing to the public's appreciation of the arts, small-town culture, and the rich history of the Washington family and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
FOHR hosts a special tour of Happy Retreat along with other Washington Family Homes amid the annual Charles Town Heritage Festival which occurs the third Saturday of September.
In 2011, Discover Downtown Charles Town (DDCT) was founded.
DDCT volunteers work closely with small-town governments and merchants to put on affairs, problematic programs to support company owners and advancement the design of Historic Downtown Charles Town.
Charles Town is positioned at 39 17 3 N 77 51 22 W (39.284237, -77.856211). According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 5.81 square miles (15.05 km2), all of it land. Charles Town is positioned 73 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.
Due to its low elevation, Charles Town is on the northern extent of the Humid Subtropical climate zone, having cool to mildly cold winters and hot and humid summers.
There were 2,011 homeholds of which 37.2% had kids under the age of 18 residing with them, 47.3% were married couples residing together, 11.1% had a female homeholder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male homeholder with no wife present, and 35.9% were non-families.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older.
Samuel Washington, George Washington's brother lived here, in Harewood (West Virginia) Charles Town Middle School Charles Town Cave Charles Town Cannons "An act to establish a town on the lands of Charles Washington, in the county of Berkeley, Hening's Statutes at Large, Vol.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Town, West Virginia.
Wikisource has the text of an 1879 American Cyclop dia article about Charles Town, West Virginia.
Discover Downtown Charles Town's Facebook page Charles Town Heritage Festival City data on Charles Town A town/city and county-seat of Jefferson County, W.
Municipalities and communities of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States
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Cities in West Virginia - Charles Town, West Virginia - Washington urbane region - Cities in Jefferson County, West Virginia - County seats in West Virginia - Populated places established in 1786
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