Scot Faulkner and the late Brad Nash (former Mayor of Harpers Ferry) co-founded Friends of HFNHP in March 1988. It is a 501(c) 3 organization under the United Charitable Programs of the National Heritage Foundation. This highly successful community-based organization has helped preserve over 1,500 acres of historic and scenic land in the Harpers Ferry area and supported numerous park programs. In
1994, Friends of HFNHP received the Partnership Award from the Department of Interior for its role in organizing the 50th Anniversary of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. In 2001, West Virginia Governor Bob Wise recognized Friends of HFNHP for its role in establishing Harpers Ferry Main Street (an economic development organization chartered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation). The group received its second Interior Partnership Award in 2006 for its leadership role in the passage of Public Law 108-307, the expansion of the Park’s boundary. In 2009, Friends of HFNHP assisted in organizing and promoting the Sesquicentennial of John Brown’s Raid and is currently planning and supporting public events for the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. The group is affiliated with the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park presents the multi-layered story of America. This includes the diverse sagas of Native American settlements, westward expansion, the transportation revolution, the industrial revolution, John Brown’s Raid, the American Civil War, and the struggle for civil rights. Friends of HFNHP is working to complete the preservation of land that tells these stories, and preserves their context.
