Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry is a location in Fallout 76.

Background

 * See also: Harpers Ferry on Wikipedia

Historically, Harpers Ferry was a vital junction point for travel across the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The natural confluence of the two rivers led to the establishment of a ferry connecting the two shores, and eventually the foundation of a settlement in 1763, called Shenandoah Falls at Mr Harpers Ferry. The town steadily developed, with major expansions including the United States Armory and Arsenal in 1799, which together with the Springfield Armory in Massachussetts became the primary supplier of small arms. The town grew and prospered until the beginning of the American civil War. John Brown's raid on the arsenal in 1859 was the beginning of a streak of bad luck for the town. Although the abolitionist was tried for treason and hanged, his attempt to touch off a slave uprising captured the imagination of the nation. When the Civil War erupted, Harpers Ferry suffered greatly due to its strategic location on the railroad map and at the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley. The warring between Union and Confederate forces between 1861 and 1865 reduced the town to near ruin, as it changed hands eight times and was the site of bitter fighting that included the largest surrender of U.S. soldiers to a hostile power until the Battle of Bataan, 80 years later. The town did not recover fully due to the changing economy and industryscape of the United States, becoming primarily a historical attraction.

In the decades leading to the Great War, Harpers Ferry became a focal point of the Free States movement. Skeptical of the intentions of the United States government, the Free Staters used the town as a staging area and supply point for the bunkers they were building deep within the Mire. As Harpers Ferry was a small town that depended on tourism, this put them at odds with the growing movement, whose conspiracy theories put off patriotic visitors. It also endangered what few lucrative contracts the town had with larger corporations, such as Med-Tek, which used Harpers Ferry as a proving ground for their Sympto-Matic automated medical unit from September 2076 onwards.

The situation steadily escalated as the Sino-American War deteriorated. In late 2076, the Free Staters started buying up supplies at stores throughout the Ferry, ranging from canned goods to camping gear. Although the shopkeepers found it a little strange, they paid in cash and that was all that mattered (although it did scare some of them when they realized just how much ammunition the Free Staters were buying up). The situation rapidly deteriorated in early 2077, as the divide between the Free Staters and the denizens of Harpers Ferry grew. Street fights between Staters and "patriots" became disturbingly common, tearing the Ferry apart and attracting government attention. At first, the interest was limited to surveillance and documenting Free States membership and their associates. Secret policemen visited Ferry vendors and coerced them into handing over names and addresses, winning a battle and losing the war, as the shopkeepers started to realize that the Free Staters may, in fact, be right about the government. However, the visits also had a notable chilling effect, as by May, many started outright refusing to provide services to Free States members.

By June, the United States military seized on the resentment and launched a propaganda campaign against the Free States, and following up with seizure of property belonging to known members of the movement. Although the signs referred to them as being seized for seditious activity, the propaganda posters left no doubts as to who was the intended target. The piece de resistance came midway through June, when the public prosecutor pressed charges against Raleigh Clay, the leader of the movement. In response, the Free States openly seceded from the United States and by September 2077, completely isolated themselves from the outside world, waiting for the bombs to drop. The military, lacking the resources to fight a protracted counter-insurgency campaign, decided to let them be for the time being.

When the bombs did come, Harpers Ferry was largely abandoned in the turmoil, as emergency services and local survivors struggled to cope with the influx of refugees. The town did not experience a rebirth until the Free States emerged from their bunkers around July 2079. They retook Harpers Ferry and started intense rebuilding efforts, turning it into a major fortress and trading post near the heart of the Mire. Using salvage and scrap gathered from the surrounding area, they established fortifications to protect themselves and people under their care - many of whom formerly despised them for their convictions - from the encroaching mutations. By 2084, the town was a prosperous outpost, providing support and food to those in need. The Free States cooperated closely with the Brotherhood, despite Clay's misgivings about Taggerdy and her outfit.

The Grafton Dam outpost in particular shielded their western flank and allowed traders and travelers to move safely through the Savage Divide to the Ferry. It was also a key route connecting the Free States with the Responders in Charleston, at least until the town was destroyed by raiders in 2082. However, this prosperity would not last. The situation deteriorated after the release of the scorchbeasts by President Thomas Eckhart. The monstrosities wreaked havoc on the region, bringing the scorched plague in their wake. Harpers Ferry held out until 2086. After the scorchbeasts  breached the automated AAA perimeter and started spreading out into adjacent regions, Harpers Ferry was hit hard and fast, wiping it out and forcing the Free Staters back into their reinforced bunkers. Raleigh Clay issued a general order banning all recovery efforts.

Points of interest

 * Harpers Ferry is a large town with densely packed residential buildings and a myriad of blind spots. It can be roughly divided into two sections: The fortress, built on the hill surrounding St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (the neo-gothic building was converted into barracks), and the outer areas, bounded by the state route in the west and the railways to the north-east and south-east.
 * The outer areas consist primarily of townhouses in the northern and eastern section, with John Brown's "Fort" (19th century firehouse) in the east, where Brown made a stand and was captured in 1959. It has been turned into a museum with numerous civil war-era items
 * Harper's Ferry armory is to the south. The armory requires an access code and contains a plethora of weapons, a steamer trunk, and three workshops (weapons, armor, and tinkering). Potomac Street running northwest to southeast in the northeast part of the town is also part of the outer ring.
 * Outside the fortifications are two manhole covers (North and South) leading to The Burrows
 * There is a trading post at the northern edge of town, at the northern end of Shenandoah Street, just behind the buildings. It contains a vendor bot for the Free States and a chemistry station.
 * For those running for president, the Harpers Ferry polling station is located to the east, by the eastern gate, opposite the clinic.
 * Inside Harpers fortifications navigation can get confusing, due to the packed environment and passages between houses. At any rate, major points of interest include:
 * The Harpers Ferry clinic, by the southeastern gate. The bottom floor contains the medical lab and storage, along with a plethora of chems. There is, however, a pressure plate at the bottom of the stairs that releases a grenade bouquet.
 * The aforementioned St. Peter's church, which makes for a useful landmark and scavenging spot, which contains the Free States barracks and another two workbenches for weapons and armor. Just north of it is a small garden with a cooking station.
 * A dead vault dweller is sitting on an upstairs sofa

Notable loot

 * Holotapes and Notes
 * Valid ballot: The note is in an open file cabinet on the second floor of house #106.
 * Restoring Order: The holotape is on the terminal desk next to the northern gate.
 * Letter of Resignation: The note can be found on the second floor desk of the Clinic, across from Lydia's Journal Page 24 note.
 * A Safe Haven: The holotape is on a desk inside house #114.
 * Harpers Ferry Postcard: The note is obtained during the mission Recover the Loot Cache.
 * Protecting Our Own: The holotape is located next to the terminal on the second floor of the southeastern section of the Armory.
 * Lydia's Journal Page 1: The note is floating near parasol'd tables in the far western corner of town.
 * Lydia's Journal Page 4: The note can be found on the ground floor of house #106, on a metal shelf at the western-southwestern corner.
 * Lydia's Journal Page 12: The note can be found on the top floor of house #398, that can only be accessed from the roof of house #394.
 * Lydia's Journal Page 20: The note can be found on an end table in a bedroom on the second floor of house #114.
 * Lydia's Journal Page 24: The note can be found on the second floor desk of the Clinic, across from the Letter of Resignation note.
 * Jesus Sunday's Holotape - Part 1: The holotape can be found on the end table on the roof of house #402.
 * Jesus Sunday's Holotape - Part 2: The holotape can be found on the metal shelf next to the south gate terminal.
 * Ella's Log: Harpers Ferry: The holotape is on a round table inside the church, next to the Fortifications Key.
 * Sharon's Angry Letter: The note is on a desk inside the church.
 * Jed's Letter: The note is located on a desk on the second floor of the south wing of the Armory.
 * Leonard's Journal Entry: The note is on a white terminal on the second floor of the large red brick building to the right of the Clinic.
 * Plans and Recipes
 * One plan/recipe spawns in a display case in the top floor of house #394.
 * One plan/recipe spawns in a display case in the top floor of house #394.
 * One plan/recipe spawns on a metal barrel behind the cooking station north of the church.
 * One plan/recipe spawns inside an oven in the ruined house just to the side of the Free States vendor bot, Wallace.
 * An armor plan and a recipe spawn in display cases on the top floors of the house destroyed by a train.
 * One plan/recipe spawns on a locker shelf on the top floor of house house #106.
 * One plan/recipe spawns on the end table on the roof of house #402, next to Jesus Sunday's Holotape - Part 1.
 * One plan/recipe spawns on an outdoor parasol'd table in front of house #108.
 * One plan/recipe spawns on a metal barrel inside the church, next to the armor workbench.
 * Keys
 * Fortifications Key: On round table inside the church, next to the Ella's Log: Harpers Ferry holotape.


 * Dynamic spawns

Appearances
Harpers Ferry appears in Fallout 76.