Top Attractions in Charles Town

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is a race track and casino just outside the eastern city limits of Charles Town, West Virginia, owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn National Gaming. It features a six furlong thoroughbred horse racing facility that is home of the West Virginia Breeders' Classic. It is one of the busiest thoroughbred tracks in the country with over 240 racing dates scheduled for 2012. It generally runs a 5 days a week schedule (four days per week in July & August and some major holidays). It also contains over 3,000 slot machines, which help to generate 1,400 jobs for the surrounding community. As of July 2010, they have table games.

Charles Town Cave

Charles Town Cave — also formerly known as Crystal Lake Cave and Lakeland Cave — is located in the center of Charles Town, West Virginia, USA. The entrance is in the cellar of a bakery and leads down to a passage about 175 feet long to a large pool of clear water about 25 feet in diameter. The cave was discovered accidentally in 1906 and was for a time developed as a commercial show cave.

White House Farm

White House Farm, also known as White House Tavern and the Dr. John McCormick House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is located in Jefferson County, West Virginia, near the small town of Summit Point, about six miles from Charles Town, West Virginia. The farm consists of a ca. 1740 farmhouse, a stone barn, a springhouse of about the same age, a wooden curing shed, and 60+ acres of pasture and woods. The farm is one of the oldest in the county and has a rich history.

Downtown Charles Town Historic District

The Downtown Charles Town Historic District comprises the commercial center of Charles Town, West Virginia. The district centers on Washington Street and includes the Jefferson County Courthouse and the New Opera House, themselves on the National Register of Historic Places. Other structures include the Market House, the Independent Fire Company building and the Post Office. A few very early buildings are included, such as the Sheetz House, dating to 1797. The town is significant as the scene of the trial of John Brown and as a contested town during the American Civil War. Charles Town is closely associated with the Washington family, as it was laid out by George Washington's brother Charles Washington. During the Civil War, there was fighting in the town itself on several occasions. In 1864, General Philip Sheridan used the Rutherford House at 417 East Washington Street as a headquarters for the Valley Campaign, meeting General Ulysses S. Grant there.

New Opera House

The Old Opera House in Charles Town, West Virginia, once known as known as the Old Opera House or simply The Opera House, is a restored theater, designed by T.A. Mullett of Washington, D.C., son of architect Alfred B. Mullett. The theater opened in 1911, bringing minstrel shows, vaudeville, touring theater groups, circuses and wild west shows to Charles Town. By the 1930s a projection machine was installed, but the theater closed in 1948. It has since re-opened as a community-supported performance space. The building consists of a two-story street front with offices on the second floor in an old apartment building, pre-dating the theater portion by about twenty years. The house and stage occupy the interior of the lot.

Jefferson County Courthouse

The first Jefferson County Courthouse was built in Charles Town, West Virginia, USA, in 1808, on a lot donated by Charles Washington. It was replaced by a larger building in about 1836, which comprises the core of the present courthouse. The building is historically notable as the site of two trials for treason: that of John Brown in 1859, and those of unionizing coal miners from Mingo County, West Virginia, a consequence of the Battle of Blair Mountain, whose trials were moved from the southern part of the state in 1922 as a result of a change of venue. The courthouse is a red brick building in the Georgian style. It has an unusual clock tower with a square dome that resembles Second Empire structures.

Hillside

Hillside, also known as Little Elmington, is a 1½ story brick house near Charles Town, West Virginia dating to circa 1798-1800. The house possesses a striking two-story gallery supported by five large round columns. The property includes a rubblestone barn and spring house. The house's name refers to its construction into the natural hillside in a manner similar to that of a bank barn, with the principal entry on the upper, uphill level.

Gap View Farm

Gap View Farm, near Charles Town, West Virginia, is a historic farm complex built in 1774. The farm was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 9, 1997.

William Grubb Farm

The William Grubb Farm, also known as Conway and Brook Manor, is located near Charles Town, West Virginia. Built circa 1763 by William Grubb Jr., the house is a "stone-ender," with stone masonry at the gable ends of the house and log construction on the long sides, now covered with clapboards. The complex includes the house, a well course , a corn crib , a barn and a Quaker burial ground .

Blakeley

Blakeley, near Charles Town, West Virginia is also known as the Washington Chew Funkhouser House, and was built in 1820 by John Augustine Washington II, great-nephew of George Washington and son of John Augustine Washington. It is a contemporary of its neighbor, Claymont Court, built across Bullskin Run by John's brother, Bushrod Corbin Washington. John Washington did not attempt to match the grandeur of Claymont Court, as he was in line to inherit Mount Vernon, and did so in 1829. Upon John's death at Mount Vernon in 1832, his son, Richard Blackburn Washington, inherited Blakeley. In 1844 Richard married his cousin, Christian Washington of Harewood. In 1859, Richard was part of the posse that pursued John Brown's Raiders. After the death of Richard's brother John Augustine Washington III in 1861 while fighting for the Confederacy, John's eight orphaned children came to live at Blakeley, joining Richard and Christian Washington's seven. In 1864 Blakeley was extensively damaged by fire, but was rebuilt by Richard. In 1875 Richard was forced to sell Blakeley and moved with his family to Harewood. The house was purchased by Louise Fontaine Washington Chew, the niece of Richard B. Washington. Chew's husband, Colonel R. Preston Chew was a local businessman, the president of the Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing and Improvement Company. The house was then sold in 1892 to John Burns, a local farmer and community leader. Blakeley was purchased in 1943 by industrialist Raymond J. Funkhouser, who undertook its restoration. Funkhouser had also purchased Claymont Court, which he used as his residence. It was Funkhouser who, feeling that a Washington house should be more grand, and wishing to complement Claymont Court, added the two-story portico. The interior was more carefully renovated, and in keeping with the historical record.

The Hermitage

The Hermitage near Charles Town, West Virginia is a small stone cottage dating to circa 1734, making it one of the oldest buildings in West Virginia. A stone privy is believed to be the oldest structure of its kind in the state. The house is associated with the Chew family, and in particular Colonel Roger Preston Chew, a Confederate artillery officer. After the American Civil War, Chew married Louise Fontaine Washington, daughter of the last owner of Mount Vernon, at Blakeley.

Jacks-Manning Farm

The Jacks-Manning Farm, also known as the Vinton Farm was built around 1840 for Robert Jacks near Charles Town, West Virginia, in the Greek Revival style. Jacks had married Julia Davenport, a member of a prominent Jefferson County family. Their daughter, Rebecca Jacks, married Thomas J. Manning, and the property has remained in the hands of descendants of the Manning family.

Media Farm

Media Farm is a farm complex near Charles Town, West Virginia that dates to 1780, and has remained in the same family ever since. The property was acquired by Charles Yates, an English immigrant, from Thomas Rutherford. In the twentieth century, author Julia McDonald Davis spent her childhood summers at the farm. Her father, who visited the farm frequently, was lawyer, diplomat and presidential candidate John W. Davis. The original house was a log structure, with a stone addition added in 1790. The house grew and its present appearance is Gothic Revival. During World War I several small tenant houses were built on the farm to house "farmerettes," who were city women brought from urban areas to assist farmers whose labor force had gone to war.

Cedar Lawn

Cedar Lawn, also known as Berry Hill and Poplar Hill, is one of several houses built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the Washington family. Cedar Lawn was built in 1825 for John Thornton Augustine Washington, George Washingtons grand-nephew. The property was originally part of the Harewood estate belonging to Samuel Washington. The property that eventually became Cedar Lawn was left to Samuels son, Thornton Washington, who built "Berry Hill", named for his wifes family. Berry Hill was destroyed by fire, and John Thornton Augustine built Cedar Lawn when he inherited. In the 1940s, the house was bought by R.J. Funkhouser, an industrialist who had a taste for Washington family estates, who also owned Blakeley and Claymont Court. The property remains in the Funkhouser family and is known as OSullivan Farms, after Funkhousers principal venture, the OSullivan Corporation.

Claymont Court

Claymont Court or simply Claymont is a Georgian style brick mansion, the grandest of several built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the Washington family. The current house was built in 1840 by Bushrod Corbin Washington, grand-nephew of George Washington, to replace a house that was originally built in 1820, but burned in 1838. The house was purchased in 1899 by author Frank Stockton, who lived there until his death in 1902. In 1943, Claymont was bought by industrialist R.J. Funkhouser, who at the same time bought nearby Blakeley, another Washington house. In 1974 it was purchased by John G. Bennett for the purpose of an intentional community. It is currently used as a retreat center by the Claymont Society for Continuous Education.

Harewood

Harewood is one of several houses in the vicinity of Charles Town, West Virginia built for members of the Washington family. The house was designed by John Ariss for Samuel Washington in 1770. Washington moved from his farm on Chotank Creek in Stafford County, Virginia to Harewood, accumulating 3,800 acres by the time he died in 1781. George Washington visited the house several times. James Madison and Dolley Payne Todd were married at Harewood on September 15, 1794. Dolleys sister was Lucy Washington, wife of Samuel Washingtons son, George Steptoe Washington, who had inherited the estate. The property remains in the Washington family.

Jefferson County Courthouse

Robert Worthington House

The Robert Worthington House, also known as Piedmont and Quarry Banks, is an historic house located near Charles Town, West Virginia. The main house was constructed as an addition in 1784 to the original structure, which dates to circa 1735, built by Robert Worthington, who called the house "Quarry Banks New Style" after his original home, "Quarry Banks" in England. Worthington's grandson, Thomas Worthington, eventually became the sixth governor of Ohio. The Georgian style addition was built by Dr. John Briscoe. The house remains in the Briscoe family.

Beall-Air

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 George Washington and hostage in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. 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. George and Elizabeth's son, Colonel William Lewis Jr., was born in 1812. The present front of the house was added in 1820. Colonel William Lewis Washington Jr. married in 1897 Barbara Gibb, a Canadian nurse, who was the daughter of James Gibb . Col Washington served in the Confederate service during the American Civil War. He claimed to be a grandnephew of General George Washington, the first President of the United States of America. He died in January 1902, and was buried at Nashville.

Richwood Hall

Richwood Hall, also known as Richwoods, is a house near Charles Town, West Virginia. The lands once belonged to George Washington, who received them from Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and subsequently gave to his brother, Samuel Washington. It was Samuel's son, Lawrence Augustine Washington, who built or moved into the house with his bride, Mary Dorcas Wood, in 1797. This original house now forms a wing of the present enlarged house. The Washingtons lived at Richwoods until 1802, when they sold the property to Smith Slaughter. By 1829 the house had been enlarged, either by Slaughter or his successor, Joseph Shewater. In any case, materials, including bricks and carved wood were imported from England. At the time of the American Civil War the property belonged to John R. Flagg. Forces under the command of General Jubal A. Early fired from Richwood Hall at Union forces under Sheridan at Locust Hill.

Altona

Altona, near Charles Town, West Virginia, is a historic farm with an extensive set of subsidiary buildings. The original Federal style plantation house was built in 1793 by Revolutionary War officer Abraham Davenport on land purchased from Charles Washington. The house was expanded by Abraham's son, Colonel Braxton Davenport. During the Civil War the farm was a favored encampment. Generals Philip Sheridan and Ulysses S. Grant both used the house as a headquarters and meeting place. The farm was sold out of the Davenport family in 1906, but repurchased in 1936. In the interim, a Sears, Roebuck house was added to the property.

Gibson-Todd House

The Gibson-Todd House was the site of the hanging of John Brown, the abolitionist who led a raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia before the opening of the American Civil War. The property is located in Charles Town, West Virginia, and includes a large Victorian style house built in 1891. The house was built by John Thomas Gibson, who led the first armed response to Harpers Ferry during Brown's raid as commander of the Virginia Militia in Jefferson County. Gibson went on to serve as an officer for the Confederacy. After the war he was mayor of Charles Town. Among those present at Brown's hanging were Stonewall Jackson, John McCausland, J.E.B. Stuart and John Wilkes Booth. When the old Jefferson County jail was demolished, Gibson saved stones from the building and built a monument to the event on the property. The house was designed by Thomas A. Mullett, son of Alfred B. Mullett. Mullett also designed the New Opera House and the new Charles Town jail.

Belvedere

Belvedere, also known as Belvidere, was built near Charles Town, West Virginia by Magnus Tate II in 1807. The Federal style mansion is situated at the end of a tree-lined driveway and commands a sweeping view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Happy Retreat

Happy Retreat is a historic property in Charles Town, West Virginia, which was originally owned and developed by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of George Washington and the founder of Charles Town.

Old Charles Town Historic District

The Old Charles Town Historic District comprises more than three hundred structures, primarily residences, in Charles Town, West Virginia. In contrast to the mainly commercial Downtown Charles Town Historic District, the Old Charles Town Historic District includes many early houses, some of log construction. Later houses are in the Federal style, with Italianate and Greek Revival buildings. A number of Second Empire and Victorian homes are present. The most notable house in the district is Hunter Hill, the house of Andrew Hunter, chief prosecutor of John Brown. Built in 1820, the house was destroyed during the American Civil War by his Unionist cousin David Hunter, and was rebuilt in 1865.

Ripon Lodge

Ripon Lodge, located near the village of Rippon, West Virginia, was built in 1833 by Henry S. Turner on his "Wheatland" estate. The next year his son, William F. Turner, inherited Ripon Lodge. The house is a two-story T-shaped stone building with a detached 1-1/2 story stone summer kitchen. The interior contains an elegant half-spiral curving stairway to the second floor.

Aspen Hill

Aspen Hill is a farmhouse, built about 1840 near Charles Town, Virginia , by James G. Hurst, a middle-tier farmer and landowner, who sought to build a residence befitting his rising status. The house occupies a middle ground between the grand mansions of the landed gentry and the more humble dwellings of more modest farmers. The house lacks some of the details and craftsmanship present in more substantial houses.

Hopewell

Hopewell, also known as Hopewell Mills and Hopewell Farm, was established around 1765 by William Little, Sr., who built grain and saw mills near the Shenandoah River. In 1827, William Little, Jr. sold the property to James Hite and Jacob Newcomer. Hite named the property "Hopewell", identifying the mill with a place in Leetown also named Hopewell, where there was a Quaker meeting house. Hite's descendant, Thomas Hite Willis, operated and expanded the mill, adding a woolen mill. The woolen mill operated until the 1920s providing uniforms for the Army. The complex includes a log-and-clapboard house, built circa 1765 with twentieth century additions, a tenant house from the same era and of similar construction, several outbuildings and the ruins of the woolen mill, circa 1850.

Look Around

This attraction is located in

This is a private property. Please enjoy respectfully and do not disturb the occupants.

WebSite Wiki

Edit Categories

Add Tours

Show tours that use this attraction...

This attraction is not part of any tours

Add Collections

Show collections that this attraction is part of...

This attraction is not part of any collections

Some of the attractions we imported from Wikipedia are not perfect. Send us an email detailing what's wrong and we'll look into fixing it.

Fix it yourself

GuRoute is all about Gurus sharing their local knowledge. If you feel up to fixing this problem yourself, why not adopt it. You will become the owner and can fix whatever problems you see.

We've copied a link to this attraction into your clipboard so that ou can paste it into an email or text message...

More Info... ✔

You can add your friends to the visit yourself, or, send them a link and let them add themselves...

The visit will appear on both your timelines and on your Shared Timeline.

Click below and we'll email you a link that you can send on to friends or post on your group's Facebook page.

If your friends aren't members of GuRoute yet, this is a great way to get them started.

Recent

Recently used Collections will appear here...

Recent

Recently used tours will appear here...

Add to Your Tour Bus
Search Tours...
Add to Approved
Search Collections...
Search Games...
Recommend...

Image

I want to be the Guru for this attraction

You know this attraction very well and want to get credit for creating it

Allow someone who knows this attraction better to adopt it

You know enough to describe this attraction, but would prefer to let someone who knows it better adopt it and add more details later

Keep this attraction anonymous

You create the attraction as you want to remember it's location, but really, you don't know it very well, so you don't want your name on it

Where is this?

GuRoute likes to place attractions inside other attractions. So, maybe it's in a city, or maybe it's inside a particular park in that city. Maybe your attraction is a huge park that spans half the county, or multiple counties.

Determining where this attraction is gives it context - if it's in a park, you'll be able to see it alongside all the other attractions in that park. And that helps define the park.

GuRoute will automatically calculate a parent region for this attraction. You can change it if there is something more appropriate.

This attraction is currently located in .

Change

This attraction does not yet have any reviews

Please login to write a review...

Reviewed by

* Use as Recommendation

Record new Visit

Add this location to your timneline?

If there's an existing attraction open it and add it to your timeline...
If not, enter a title and we'll create a new attraction for your memories...

Create new Attraction

Create a new attraction at this location?

We rely on Gurus like you to share your local knowledge...

Location:	(Give a name for this location)
Trip Start Date:

Rating:
Comments:

+ GuRouters:

Rating:
Comments:

Add this to your timeline instead...

Imagine having a record of all the cool things you've done in your life!

Using our timeline you can keep track of everywhere you visit in your lifetime...

But, you'll need to sign in first...

Add contacts so that you can share your travels and record places that you visit together...

Name
Email
	Family Favorites

Family
Favorites

Profile TimeLine Our Visits Edit Accept Decline Invite

Public

Everyone can see this visit on your timeline

Friends Only

Only your friends will see this visit

Private

Only you will see this visit

If you have any more friends that visited this place with you, feel free to add them to the visit. We'll write it to their timeline and once they confirm it, they too will have this memory for a lifetime.

If they're not already registered, you just need their name and email address and you can add them and we'll send them an invite on your behlaf.

Add a tour comment

Add some extra information for when this attraction is viewed as part of your tour...

Next Stop Instructions

Add some instructions for what to see/do on the way to the next stop...

Next Stop Instructions

Add some instructions for what to see/do on the way to the next stop...

If you're visiting an existing attraction, open it and add it to your timeline. If there is no attraction for the place you are visiting...

Click 'Add My Location' below
Or right-click on the map to mark a different location
Or long-press if you have a touch screen

You can even add locations while you're offline....

Load up the map when you're online and we'll keep track of your locaiton
You can add locations to your timeline
When you are online again we'll sync them with the cloud

We can't connect to the internet right now. The following attractions are saved locally and can be uploaded when you're online...

Add tour to What's Next?

Go...

Either for yourself or someone else...

Do your trip research in GuRoute
Add all the places that you think might be worthy of a visit into a trip-plan
Add your trip-plan to your "What's Next" timeline
(or a friend's "What's Next" timeline)
When you're on vacation you'll have all your research at your fingertips
Share your timline with your friends
They can enjoy your vacation with you, seeing not only where you've been, but where you're going next...
Add/remove attractions if things change

It also makes a great souvenir of your trip

Collections

Go...

Create a home page for a collection of attractions

Add an image and description to display on the homepage
Start adding content
Add existing attractions to your collection or create new attractions of your own
Collections can be:
- Public (Anyone can add attractions to your collection)
- Shared (Only yourself and Gurus you nominate can add content)
- Private (The collection will only be visible to yourself)

Uses

Local business or hotel
Showcase local attractions that you endorse
Clubs
Showcase attractions that members have created (eg. local historical society)
Special Interest
If GuRoute does not have a category for your special interest you add your attractions to your own collection instead

Examples

Walking/Driving Tours

Go...

A guided tour where GuRoute will direct you from stop to stop and narrate a description of each attraction you arrive at

GuRoute uses your phone's GPS to guide you from stop to stop
GuRoute automatically detects when you arrive at the next tour-stop and narrates the description of the attraction (Chrome Only)
It then sends you on to the next stop

Tours are great to attract people to your town. Even places with no significant points of interest can be lots of fun when part of a tour

Cater tours to your Audience

Kid-friendly Tours
- Focus on what will keep kids interested
- Instead of parents having to drag their kids around they'll be struggling to keep up
- Let the kids navigate and they'll get more fun out of finding that historical plaque than they ever would from reading it
Accessible tours
Short and long tours of the same location

What you need to do...

Click 'Go...'
Enter a title, description and location for the tour
Add existing attractions OR create new ones and add them to the tour
For existing attractions you can add more information specific to the theme of the tour
You can also add instructions on what to do or see en-route to the next tour-stop
Try out your tour and see how it works...

Mystery Tour

Go...

Create a Mystery Tour

Create a series of clues to show people around a city, neighborhood or whatever place you like...

GuRoute will show people clues to get them from attraction to attraction
When they reach each stop GuRoute will tell them about the place and give them the next clue
Take as long or as you like and explore each location at your leisure

Scavenger Hunt

Go...

Create a Scavenger Hunt

Create a series of questions that people have to answer. The answers can all be discovered by walking aroung the area, looking for clues.

How many beers are on tap at Michael Collin's Irish Bar?
What's the name of the oldest building on main streeet?
Show a picture of some public art and ask them what it is called
Clues can have numeric or multiple choice answers

My Timeline

GuRoute

Discover Your World

Share your Experiences

Record your Life

Top Attractions in Charles Town

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races

Charles Town Cave

White House Farm

Downtown Charles Town Historic District

New Opera House

Jefferson County Courthouse

Hillside

Gap View Farm

William Grubb Farm

Blakeley

The Hermitage

Jacks-Manning Farm

Media Farm

Cedar Lawn

Claymont Court

Harewood

Jefferson County Courthouse

Robert Worthington House

Beall-Air

Richwood Hall

Altona

Gibson-Todd House

Belvedere

Happy Retreat

Old Charles Town Historic District

Ripon Lodge

Aspen Hill

Hopewell

More...

I want to be the Guru for this attraction

Allow someone who knows this attraction better to adopt it

Keep this attraction anonymous

Where is this?

This attraction does not yet have any reviews

Public

Friends Only

Private

Add a tour comment

Next Stop Instructions

Next Stop Instructions

Add tour to What's Next?

Either for yourself or someone else...

It also makes a great souvenir of your trip

Collections

Create a home page for a collection of attractions

Uses

Examples

Walking/Driving Tours

A guided tour where GuRoute will direct you from stop to stop and narrate a description of each attraction you arrive at

Cater tours to your Audience

What you need to do...

Mystery Tour

Create a Mystery Tour

Scavenger Hunt

Create a Scavenger Hunt