Editing Charles Town, West Virginia (section)

===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>}}