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'The Last Moments of John Brown,' an oil on canvas painting by English artist Thomas Hovenden, circa 1882. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Home on site of John Brown’s hanging to be auctioned

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

'The Last Moments of John Brown,' an oil on canvas painting by English artist Thomas Hovenden, circa 1882. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
‘The Last Moments of John Brown,’ an oil on canvas painting by English artist Thomas Hovenden, circa 1882. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (AP) – A mansion at the site where abolitionist John Brown was hanged more than 150 years is going on the auction block.

Brown staged a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859 and led an unsuccessful rebellion. He was convicted of treason and murder and executed.

Many scholars believe Brown and his raid became flash points that hastened the outbreak of the Civil War two years later. To the North, he was a heroic anti-slavery martyr; to the South, a lunatic killer.

The 7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Queen Anne Victorian mansion was built 30 years after Brown was hanged.

The property has a marker in the yard where Brown was hanged and hosts re-enactments of the execution.

Real estate agent Gary Gemstone of Historic Homes Marketing Group says bidding will begin at $950,000 on Sept. 11.

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AP-WF-08-20-11 1803GMT

 

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

'The Last Moments of John Brown,' an oil on canvas painting by English artist Thomas Hovenden, circa 1882. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
‘The Last Moments of John Brown,’ an oil on canvas painting by English artist Thomas Hovenden, circa 1882. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.