Charles Washington Hall

This intriguing Italianate structure occupies one of the four corners that Charles Washington intended for public buildings. The original hall, a combination market house and meeting space, was destroyed when Federal troops set it afire to prevent advancing Confederates from seizing ammunition stored within. Although some original materials were used in the rebuilding, the finished product bears little resemblance to its predecessor. Above a “colonial” facade that now mars the first story, tall arched windows and brick pilasters support a full entablature. The three central bays project slightly and are capped with a pediment that matches those at the long ends of the building. The large wooden belvedere with miniature arched windows is new but appropriate to the period of the reconstruction.

Charles Town's post office occupied the multipurpose building in 1896, when the nation's first rural free delivery system was inaugurated from it. William L. Wilson of Charles Town (see JE5.2) was the U.S. postmaster general at the time.