Introducing History's Confluences
Public History and the Meeting of Many Rivers
The sun rises over the mountains, shining its light on the two rivers as they merge together. Birds fly overhead, as hikers make their way across a footbridge towards trails that will take them to the top of the nearby rocky heights. Meanwhile, the small businesses in the town nestled between the two rivers open their doors to greet their visitors. The scene is sublime, with the beauty of the area matched only by its compelling history.
That history is rich with stories and insights. Where the two rivers meet, indigenous people traded and traveled for thousands of years before being forcibly displaced by European settlers. Early industry grew along the banks of the river. The arrival of the railroad represented a revolution in transportation. The guns made in the town’s factories prompted an abolitionist and his supporters to travel here to attempt to start a revolt to end slavery in this country. Some of the militia troops who came to stop that raid would, in less than two years, return to the town as part of their own rebellion, this time to protect the institution of slavery.
For four bloody years, the town played host to the horrors of war. Battles, guerilla violence, and murder all found a home here. At the same time, the town became a beacon of hope to thousands of self-liberated people in the area, who used the chaos of war to throw off the chains of slavery and escape to the Union garrison located at the meeting of the two rivers. With the war concluded, a college to educate the formerly enslaved rose up on the heights above the town. The student, professors, administrators, and alumni of the college helped it endure until the 1950s. In the lower town, floods repeatedly dashed hopes of any economic resurgence and paved the way for the area to become part of the National Park system.
What I’ve just described is an extremely concise history of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. People can, and have, written entire books on the topics and people described above. There’s no shortage of history in Harpers Ferry, but there’s also no shortage of other recreational opportunities too. Hiking trails exist throughout the parks, ranging from peaceful walks along the Shenandoah River to uphill treks up Maryland Heights. The Appalachian Trail itself runs through Harpers Ferry, which serves as the trail’s symbolic midpoint (unfortunately for northbound hikers, the actual halfway mark is in Pennsylvania). The area is popular with birdwatchers and third-party companies offer canoeing and tubbing activities along the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
I highlight Harpers Ferry because it illustrates how history, especially public history, doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The visitors hike up mountains that soldiers once dragged canon up, they canoe on rivers that both powered the town’s growth and nearly destroyed it. Spots where visitors now relax and rest were once sites of fighting, violence, and murder. The National Park Service interprets that history through tours, exhibits, waysides/signs, and programs, but also maintains the trails and works to conserve the area’s natural resources. As a result, the park is a place to engage with the past, get some exercise, enjoy the natural world, and spend time with friends and family.
While Harpers Ferry’s natural beauty is spectacular, the juxtaposition of the complicated past and the living present in the park is the rule in life, not the exception. Every place we pass through and every person we interact with has a past. Places where we met up with friends, live and work, often contain human stories that stretch back thousands of years. One location can play host to multiple tragedies and triumphs, and its history will only grow as time moves ever forward. Likewise, everyone has a past, and throughout their lives they will influence the histories of the people they meet and the locations they pass through in ways both large and small. The past is ever-present, but also ever-elusive. We live in the present, and we can only build a picture of the past based on the sources we have, the artifacts we find, and the memories we hold onto, none of which are 100% reliable. Ultimately, it’s the job of historians to study the past and interpret it for the benefit of the public.
A confluence is a meeting of two or more rivers. It’s the act of merging together. The historical method is built upon the confluence of facts, ideas, and different disciplines. History is the study of the past, and it interconnects with many other skills and areas of study. Public historians, preservationists, museum professionals, and other advocates of history use a variety of tools to connect people to the past. They employ different methods, research, and ideas and then bring them together with the public to enhance understanding, similar to the merging of several rivers. Historical research often includes elements from economics, physics, archeology, environmental science, statistics, sociology, geology, geography, and many others depending on the topic. Presenting history to the public and connecting it to them in a meaningful way, also known as history interpretation, can require skills like graphic design, customer service, storytelling, and audience research depending on the medium employed.
This Substack will focus on various parts of that confluence. I’ll have book reviews, discussions of the challenges facing those who interpret the past, and profiles of museums and historic sites that do a great job of connecting people with the past. I’ll also be discussing historic research and stories from the past that I find compelling, but much like a river I imagine this publication will grow and change over the course of its journey. My hope is that these articles will be of value to both history practitioners and anyone who is interested in the study and interpretation of the past. So please subscribe, and let’s see where this river takes us.