Beall-Air - Wikipedia


Beall-Air
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Beall-Air in 2022
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Nearest city	Halltown, West Virginia
Coordinates	39°18′55″N 77°48′44″W / 39.31528°N 77.81222°W / 39.31528; -77.81222
Built	1820
NRHP reference No.	73001914
Added to NRHP	August 17, 1973^[1]

Beall-Air, also known as the Colonel Lewis William Washington House, is a two-story stuccoed brick house in classical revival style near Halltown, West Virginia. It was the home of Colonel Lewis William Washington, great-great nephew of President George Washington and hostage in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.^[2]^[3]

The original house, now the rear portion of the house, is believed to have been built by Thomas Beall prior to 1800. Beall's daughter Elizabeth married George Corbin Washington in 1807. George Corbin was the grandson of Augustine Washington, half-brother of George Washington. The present front of the house was added in 1820.^[2]

Description

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The main (1820) portion of the house is a two-story stucco-faced brick structure on a stone foundation. The corners of the three-bay house are thickened by pilasters, with a similar frieze-like thickening extending horizontally above the second floor windows. The front, or south elevation has a small portico with a flat roof and four Ionic columns. The front door has sidelights and an overlight, echoed by the second floor window immediately above the portico. The east and west ends have stepped gables with central chimneys and the "shadow" of a porch. A small 2½ story structure to the north of the main house connects to the main house with a two-story link. This structure has a gabled roof with dormers and is also stuccoed. Its windows are late 18th century in detail.^[2]

The Harpers Ferry Raid

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Lewis William inherited several relics of George Washington, including a sword allegedly given by Frederick the Great to Washington and a pair of pistols given by Lafayette. John Cook, who served as John Brown's advance party at Harpers Ferry, befriended Washington and noted the relics, as well as the slave population at Beall-Air. Brown was fascinated with the Washington relics. During Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry a detachment from his force led by Cook seized the sword and pistols along with Washington at Beall-Air, taking along three of Washington's slaves. The hostages were taken to Harpers Ferry by way of the Allstadt House and Ordinary, where more hostages were taken. All survived their captivity, and Washington identified Brown to the Marine rescue party. During the assault on John Brown's Fort, a saber thrust by Marine Lieutenant Green at Brown was allegedly deflected by the belt buckle securing the Washington sword.^[2]

References

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^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ted McGee (April 5, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Beall-Air" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2013.
^ "National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet: Beall-Air (additional documentation)" (PDF). West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. National Park Service. July 7, 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

v t e John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raiders	Osborne Perry Anderson John Brown body Oliver Brown Owen Brown (son) Watson Brown John Anthony Copeland Jr. Barclay Coppock Edwin Coppock Shields Green Albert Hazlett John Henry Kagi Lewis Sheridan Leary Francis Jackson Meriam Dangerfield Newby Aaron Dwight Stevens
Secret Six	Thomas Wentworth Higginson Samuel Gridley Howe Theodore Parker Franklin Benjamin Sanborn Gerrit Smith George Luther Stearns
Other individuals	John Wilkes Booth Mary Ann Day Brown (wife) Owen Brown (father) John Brown, Jr. James Buchanan Samuel Chilton John E.P. Daingerfield Israel Greene George Henry Hoyt Andrew Hunter Stonewall Jackson Robert E. Lee James M. Mason Richard Parker Wendell Phillips Richard Realf James Redpath George Sennott Heyward Shepherd Lysander Spooner George H. Steuart J. E. B. Stuart Lewis Washington Walt Whitman Henry A. Wise
Locations	Allstadt House and Ordinary B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing Beall-Air Charles Town, West Virginia Gibson-Todd House Harpers Ferry Armory Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Historic District John Brown's Fort Kennedy Farm Sandy Hook, Maryland Winchester, Virginia
Afterwards	Battle Hymn of the Republic Burning of Winchester Medical College Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Heyward Shepherd monument John Brown (biography) John Brown Farm State Historic Site John Brown Farm, Tannery & Museum John Brown House (Akron, Ohio) John Brown Museum (Osawatomie, Kansas) John Brown's body John Brown's Body (poem) John Brown's Body (song) John Brown's last speech John Brown's Provisional Constitution The Last Days of John Brown The Last Moments of John Brown A Plea for Captain John Brown Remarks After the Hanging of John Brown Tragic Prelude Virginia v. John Brown
Related	Abolitionism in the United States La Amistad Battle of Black Jack Battle of the Spurs James Madison Bell Bleeding Kansas Cloudsplitter John Stuart Curry George DeBaptiste Frederick Douglass Ralph Waldo Emerson Fire on the Mountain Wm. Lloyd Garrison The Good Lord Bird (book, miniseries) Haitian Revolution Victor Hugo Elijah P. Lovejoy Marching Song (play) James Montgomery Origins of the American Civil War Battle of Osawatomie Quindaro Townsite Allan Pinkerton Pottawatomie massacre Santa Fe Trail (film) Seven Angry Men Storer College Henry David Thoreau Harriet Tubman Nat Turner Denmark Vesey Wakarusa War Walt Whitman Winchester and Potomac Railroad

v t e Washington family
First generation	Lawrence Washington (1602–1652)	Coat of arms of the Washington family
Second generation	John Washington
Third generation	Lawrence Washington (1659–1698)
Fourth generation	Augustine Washington Bailey Washington
Fifth generation	Lawrence Washington (1718–1752) Augustine Washington Jr. George Washington Elizabeth Washington Lewis Samuel Washington John Augustine Washington Charles Washington Henry Washington William Washington Bailey Washington Jr. Lund Washington
Sixth generation	William Augustine Washington Bushrod Washington George Steptoe Washington Lawrence Augustine Washington George William Washington
Seventh generation	John Thornton Augustine Washington George Corbin Washington Bushrod C. Washington Peter Grayson Washington
Eighth generation	Lawrence Berry Washington Lewis Washington Benjamin Franklin Washington William D. Washington Eugenia Washington
Tenth generation	W. Selden Washington
Washington family residences Abingdon Arlington House Beall-Air Blakeley Cedar Lawn Claymont Court Fairfield Ferry Farm George Washington Birthplace National Monument Happy Retreat Harewood Kenmore Mary Washington House Mount Vernon Richwood Hall Ridgedale Rising Sun Tavern River Farm Sulgrave Washington Old Hall

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Barbour Berkeley Boone Braxton Brooke Cabell Calhoun Clay Doddridge Fayette Gilmer Grant Greenbrier Hampshire Hancock Hardy Harrison Jackson Jefferson Kanawha Lewis Lincoln Logan Marion Marshall Mason McDowell Mercer Mineral Mingo Monongalia Monroe Morgan Nicholas Ohio Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Putnam Raleigh Randolph Ritchie Roane Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Upshur Wayne Webster Wetzel Wirt Wood Wyoming
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Category:National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Portal:National Register of Historic Places

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