[[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Robert Harper]] founded the community of [[Harpers Ferry]] in the mid-18th century. Robert Harper was born in 1718 in [[Oxford Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Oxford Township]] near [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Since he was a builder, Harper was asked by a group of Quakers in 1747 to build a meeting house in the Shenandoah Valley near the present site of [[Winchester, Virginia]].<ref>Photo of the Week: Natural Beauty and National History Converge in Harpers Ferry. (October 13, 2016). ''States News Service''. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://0-go.galegroup.com.iii.slcl.org/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=slclpowersearch&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA466677270&asid=b6dc2f26a92467112169f2ee1e19c793</nowiki></ref> Traveling through Maryland on his way to the Shenandoah Valley, Harper proceeded to the area where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers met. Attracted and amazed by the ample latent waterpower that resided in the rivers and by the strategic location for travel and transport, Harper obtained a patent for {{convert|125|acre|km2}} of the land in 1751.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/robert-harper.htm|title=Robert Harper|website=National Park Service|access-date=March 12, 2017|archive-date=March 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313132923/https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/robert-harper.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> He built a ferry to cross the Shenandoah River to help pioneers reach their destination in the new western lands. After the creation of the ferry, more people were attracted to the area and it became a destination with flourishing businesses.
