"Dark With Bloody Memory": The Odyssey of the John Brown Fort Across America, Memory and Place

This thesis investigates American historical memory, and place studies. The work focuses on the Harpers Ferry fire engine house, known as the John Brown Fort, and its history. The historical focus shows the mobile nature of the building as a place in American history and as a symbolic place in the memory of the past. This thesis proposes a new term to the “language of place” studies, that being “memory making” which is a phrase defined by the author as “a process by which varying groups or individuals impact the physical place, history, interpretation, understanding, and importantly the meaning of a site or event based on their usage of the place, and how it therefore impacts us when visiting.” Through this lens, the thesis tracks the history of the Fort through its moves and meanings to the World’s Fair of 1893, and back to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where it moved two more times. Chapters one and two examine its use as a piece of memorial commerce in 1893, to a tool for self-promotion and a mode of looking into the importance of women, or women’s groups in historic preservation in the 19th century. The third chapter looks at its intersection of memory and place with civil rights and race. Here, memory making is used to explain the symbolic importance of the Fort, especially in regard to early Civil Rights groups and leaders, namely the Niagara Movement and W.E.B. DuBois.

Files

Metadata

Work Title "Dark With Bloody Memory": The Odyssey of the John Brown Fort Across America, Memory and Place
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Joseph Von Gagermeier
Keyword
  1. John Brown
  2. Memory
  3. John Brown fort
  4. Harpers Ferry
  5. Public memory
  6. W. E. B. DuBois
  7. Civil rights
  8. Civil War memory
  9. Civil War
  10. Place of memory
  11. Historic preservation
  12. Chicago Worlds Fair
License CC BY 4.0 (Attribution)
Work Type Masters Culminating Experience
Sub Work Type Capstone Project
Program American Studies
Degree Master of Arts
Publisher
  1. ScholarSphere
Publication Date May 1, 2025
DOI doi:10.26207/qm92-2s62
Deposited May 01, 2025

Versions

Analytics

Collections

This resource is currently not in any collection.

Work History

Version 1
published

  • Created

    May 01, 2025 14:30 by jvg5965

  • Updated

    May 01, 2025 14:30 by [unknown user]

  • Updated Keyword, Degree, Program, and 3 more Show Changes

    May 01, 2025 14:33 by jvg5965

    Keyword
    • john brown, memory, john brown fort, harpers ferry, public memory, web dubois, civil rights, civil war memory, civil war, place of memory, historic preservation, chicago worlds fair
    Degree
    • Master of Arts
    Program
    • American Studies
    Description
    • This thesis investigates American historical memory, and place studies. The work focuses on the Harpers Ferry fire engine house, known as the John Brown Fort, and its history. The historical focus shows the mobile nature of the building as a place in American history and as a symbolic place in the memory of the past. This thesis proposes a new term to the “language of place” studies, that being “memory making” which is a phrase defined by the author as “a process by which varying groups or individuals impact the physical place, history, interpretation, understanding, and importantly the meaning of a site or event based on their usage of the place, and how it therefore impacts us when visiting.” Through this lens, the thesis tracks the history of the Fort through its moves and meanings to the World’s Fair of 1893, and back to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where it moved two more times. Chapters one and two examine its use as a piece of memorial commerce in 1893, to a tool for self-promotion and a mode of looking into the importance of women, or women’s groups in historic preservation in the 19th century. The third chapter looks at its intersection of memory and place with civil rights and race. Here, memory making is used to explain the symbolic importance of the Fort, especially in regard to early Civil Rights groups and leaders, namely the Niagara Movement and W.E.B. DuBois
    Sub Work Type
    • Capstone Project
    Publication Date
    • 2025-05-01
  • Added Creator Joseph Gagermeier

    May 01, 2025 14:34 by jvg5965

  • Added “Dark With Bloody Memory”.docx

    May 01, 2025 14:38 by jvg5965

  • Updated License Show Changes

    May 01, 2025 14:41 by jvg5965

    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  • Published Publisher Show Changes

    May 01, 2025 14:41 by jvg5965

    Publisher
    • ScholarSphere
  • Updated

    May 01, 2025 22:05 by [unknown user]

  • Updated Work Title Show Changes

    May 07, 2025 18:47 by avs5190

    Work Title
    • "Dark With Bloody Memory": The Odyssey of the John Brown Fort Across America, Memory, and Place
    • "Dark With Bloody Memory": The Odyssey of the John Brown Fort Across America, Memory and Place
  • Updated Keyword, Description Show Changes

    May 07, 2025 18:48 by avs5190

    Keyword
    • john brown, memory, john brown fort, harpers ferry, public memory, web dubois, civil rights, civil war memory, civil war, place of memory, historic preservation, chicago worlds fair
    • John Brown, Memory, John Brown fort, Harpers Ferry, Public memory, W. E. B. DuBois, Civil rights, Civil War memory, Civil War, Place of memory, Historic preservation, Chicago Worlds Fair
    Description
    • This thesis investigates American historical memory, and place studies. The work focuses on the Harpers Ferry fire engine house, known as the John Brown Fort, and its history. The historical focus shows the mobile nature of the building as a place in American history and as a symbolic place in the memory of the past. This thesis proposes a new term to the “language of place” studies, that being “memory making” which is a phrase defined by the author as “a process by which varying groups or individuals impact the physical place, history, interpretation, understanding, and importantly the meaning of a site or event based on their usage of the place, and how it therefore impacts us when visiting.” Through this lens, the thesis tracks the history of the Fort through its moves and meanings to the World’s Fair of 1893, and back to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where it moved two more times. Chapters one and two examine its use as a piece of memorial commerce in 1893, to a tool for self-promotion and a mode of looking into the importance of women, or women’s groups in historic preservation in the 19th century. The third chapter looks at its intersection of memory and place with civil rights and race. Here, memory making is used to explain the symbolic importance of the Fort, especially in regard to early Civil Rights groups and leaders, namely the Niagara Movement and W.E.B. DuBois
    • This thesis investigates American historical memory, and place studies. The work focuses on the Harpers Ferry fire engine house, known as the John Brown Fort, and its history. The historical focus shows the mobile nature of the building as a place in American history and as a symbolic place in the memory of the past. This thesis proposes a new term to the “language of place” studies, that being “memory making” which is a phrase defined by the author as “a process by which varying groups or individuals impact the physical place, history, interpretation, understanding, and importantly the meaning of a site or event based on their usage of the place, and how it therefore impacts us when visiting.” Through this lens, the thesis tracks the history of the Fort through its moves and meanings to the World’s Fair of 1893, and back to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia where it moved two more times. Chapters one and two examine its use as a piece of memorial commerce in 1893, to a tool for self-promotion and a mode of looking into the importance of women, or women’s groups in historic preservation in the 19th century. The third chapter looks at its intersection of memory and place with civil rights and race. Here, memory making is used to explain the symbolic importance of the Fort, especially in regard to early Civil Rights groups and leaders, namely the Niagara Movement and W.E.B. DuBois.
  • Renamed Creator Joseph Von Gagermeier Show Changes

    May 07, 2025 18:49 by avs5190

    • Joseph Gagermeier
    • Joseph Von Gagermeier