Bidding begins on mansion at john brown death site

Real estate agents are taking offers for the Historic Perkins House, a Charles Town mansion that sits on the site where abolitionist John Brown was hanged for treason.

An auction is set for Sept. 11 with an opening bid of $950,000, but potential buyers can begin making private offers now. The right one could pre-empt the sale.

The 7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Queen Anne Victorian was built in 1891, about 30 years after Brown was hanged. The execution site is in the yard, marked by a white obelisk.

Brown attacked a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859, planning to seize weapons, arm a guerrilla force and start a revolution to end slavery. But it was quashed within 48 hours.

Source: Herald-Mail.com