Shepherdstown Historic District
The Shepherdstown Historic District protects the historic core of Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia, founded in 1762 as Mecklenburg. There are no known structures from before the town was called Shepherdstown.
The district is centered on German Street, the town’s main street, and includes 386 contributing resources with 69 non-contributing elements. The chief period is the late 18th century, and many houses are Federal-style brick buildings. German Street also has 19th-century street features such as metal fences, mounting blocks, wooden pumps, and mature trees.
Shepherdstown has a notable place in American history. James Rumsey demonstrated a steamboat on the nearby Potomac River in 1787. In 1790, Shepherdstown was proposed as the national capital but lost to Alexandria, Virginia, and Georgetown, Maryland. During the Civil War, Confederate forces burned the Potomac River covered bridge in 1861 and used nearby Pack Horse Ford to move to the Battle of Antietam. The town became a field hospital, and later Union troops occupied it to protect the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
In 1987 the district was expanded to include late-19th-century properties, such as the Register Building, the Opera House, and the Jefferson Security Bank. The expansion also added Elmwood Cemetery, which contains many Civil War graves. Outer areas of the expanded district feature American Foursquare and bungalow-style houses. The older sections of the Shepherd University campus are also included.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:34 (CET).