Editing Charles Town, West Virginia (section)

==History==
===18th century===
[[File:Happy Retreat WV1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Happy Retreat]] estate was owned and developed by [[Charles Washington]]]]
"Charlestown" was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in January 1787.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol12-17.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703154348/http://vagenweb.org/hening/vol12-17.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2011|title=An act to establish a town on the lands of Charles Washington, in the county of Berkeley, Hening's Statutes at Large, Vol. XII, Chapter LXXX|website=vagenweb.org|access-date=2017-03-05}}</ref> However, for about two decades, confusion arose because the same name was also used for a town established in [[Ohio County, West Virginia|Ohio County]] at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and authorized in the 1791 term of that local court. That area in 1797 became known as [[Brooke County, West Virginia|Brooke County]], with that "Charlestown" as its county seat until a December 27, 1816 act of the Virginia General Assembly changed its name to [[Wellsburg, West Virginia|Wellsburg]], to honor a trader and his son.<ref>Nancy L. Caldwell, A History of Brooke County, (Brooke County Historical Society 1975), p. 4</ref>

[[Charles Washington]], the founder of Charles Town, was born in [[Hunting Creek]], now [[Fairfax County, Virginia|Fairfax County]], [[Virginia]], on May 2, 1738. He was the youngest full brother of [[George Washington]]. He came to what is today Jefferson County between April and October 1780. The estate of Charles Washington, [[Happy Retreat]], was erected in 1780. In 1786, on 80 acres (320,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of his adjoining land, Charles laid out the streets of Charles Town,<ref>{{cite web|last=Ambler|first=Charles Henry|title=George Washington and the West|url=http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;xc=1;idno=00agb5351m;g=pitttextall;type=simple;q1=ohio%20company;submit=Search;didno=00agb5351m;rgn=full%20text;view=image;seq=0048|work=Historic Pittsburgh Text Collection|publisher=University of Pittsburgh|access-date=September 20, 2013}}</ref> naming many of them after his brothers and one after his wife, Mildred. He donated the four corner lots at the intersection of George and Washington Streets for public buildings of the town and county, provided the town become the seat of the county separated from Berkeley County, which it did in 1801.  The four corner lots are occupied by the courthouse, city hall, post office (formerly the jail), and Charles Washington Hall, an event space and food hall.

In 1794, James Madison married "Dolly" Todd at [[Harewood (West Virginia)|Harewood]], the home of [[George Steptoe Washington]], son of [[George Washington]]'s brother Colonel [[Samuel Washington]], just outside Charles Town.

===19th century===
[[File:Charles Town Methodist Church. St. Thomas Lutheran Church. Baptist Church. Zion Episcopal Church. Charles Town Presbyterian Church (77400).jpg|thumb|Five churches in Charles Town]]
Jefferson County was formed in 1801 as Charles Washington had anticipated. The county court house stands on one of the lots he donated, as did the jail until 1919, when it was demolished and replaced by the Post Office.

Charles Washington died sometime between July and September, 1799, only a short while before the death of his brother George. Charles' and his wife Mildred's grave sites near Evitts Run have recently been located and surrounded by a stone wall.

In 1844, the first issue of the ''[[Spirit of Jefferson]]'' newspaper was published in Charles Town by James W. Beller. It is the oldest newspaper in the state still (2020) being published.

On October 16, 1859, abolitionist [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] and his followers [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry|raided the Federal arsenal at nearby Harpers Ferry]], {{convert|7|mi}} east of Charles Town. The insurrection was quickly put down and [[Virginia v. John Brown|John Brown and his six captured associates were tried]] in the [[Jefferson County Courthouse (Charles Town, West Virginia)|Jefferson County Courthouse]] for treason, murder, and fomenting a [[slave insurrection]]; all were found guilty and were hanged at the location occupied today by the [[Gibson-Todd House]]. Brown's trial and execution brought the national press and many other visitors to Charles Town. During the six weeks between Brown's arrest (October 19) and his execution (December 2) Charles Town was an armed military camp; hundreds of soldiers were stationed there to prevent a rescue of Brown, and a cannon was placed in front of the courthouse. See [[Virginia v. John Brown]].

During the first two years of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the front lines of the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] and Confederate armies in the area fluctuated and the town frequently changed hands during the military engagements in the surrounding areas, with the town first occupied by Confederate troops, then Union troops, then back to Confederate until 1863 when Union troops occupied the town for the remainder of the war.

In 1883, the Valley Telephone Company was incorporated in West Virginia and began installing telephone lines throughout Jefferson County. The company's main office was in Charles Town.

A writer in 1898 commented as follows:

{{blockquote|Charles Town, which thirty-eight years ago had about fifteen hundred inhabitants, is now a thriving town of thirty-five hundred. The Court-House, in which John Brown and his followers (seven in number) were tried, has been remodeled, the jail in which they were incarcerated torn down and rebuilt; and on the site of the "execution" is erected a fine mansion, the residence of Colonel John Thomas Gibson, who was Colonel of the 55th Regiment Virginia Militia at that time (1859), and who was an active participant in the capture of John Brown and his followers.<ref>{{cite news
|title=The John Brown Raid. His capture, trial, execution and comments
|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/62001279/what-has-happened-since-john-browns/
|via=[[newspapers.com]]
|newspaper=[[Spirit of Jefferson]] (Charles Town, West Virginia)
|date=January 18, 1898
|first=Tilden Garnett
|last=Tate}}</ref>}}

===20th century===
[[File:Charles Town City Hall WV1.jpg|thumb|Charles Town City Hall, part of the [[Downtown Charles Town Historic District]]]]
In 1922, [[Bill Blizzard]], a leader of striking coal miners during the [[Battle of Blair Mountain]], was charged with [[treason]] and murder for engaging in warfare against state and federal troops in [[Mingo County, West Virginia|Mingo]] and [[Logan County, West Virginia|Logan]] Counties. He was tried in the Jefferson County courthouse in Charles Town and was found not guilty.

The [[Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races|Charles Town Race Track]] first opened in 1933. It was built on land purchased from the Charles Town Horse Show Association. In 1999, the Charles Town Race Track underwent major renovation which included a large addition to house video slot machines. It was renamed Charles Town Races & Slots. It became the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on July 2, 2010.

In 1975, the Jefferson Memorial Hospital in neighboring [[Ranson, West Virginia|Ranson]] opened, replacing Charles Town General Hospital. It became part of the [[West Virginia University Health System]] and was renamed Jefferson Medical Center in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wvumedicine.org/jefferson/ |title=Jefferson Medical Center |date=May 10, 2016 |publisher=[[West Virginia University Health System]] |access-date=April 26, 2023 }}</ref>

===21st century===
Charles Town's population has more than doubled since 2000, due in part to annexation of housing subdivisions that have been developed on land around the original city.<ref>{{cite news | first = Eugene | last = Meyer | date = June 25, 2005 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/realestate/2005/06/25/town-rich-in-history-grapples-with-future/e9b956ff-35fd-457c-8c4e-6869eacb9146/ | title=Town Rich in History Grapples with Future|newspaper=Washington Post | access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref>