Mecklenburg is renamed to Shepherds Town in honor of Captain Thomas and Elizabeth Shepherd. It was Thomas Shepherd who provided land for and laid out the town.
An epidemic of malignant disease stalked travelers and residents of eastern Jefferson County. The outbreak caused many fatalities in Shepherdstown and Harpers Ferry. This "unknown" disease may have been a form of Typhus Fever.
Another significant wave of cholera affects eastern Jefferson County from Harpers Ferry to Shepherdstown, ravaging residents and laborers from summer through winter.
In response to the Corkonian assault a few days earlier, Longford men overtake unsuspecting Corkonians on the canal line 6 miles below Williamsport. This battle ended with 5 or 6 Corkonians wounded, and over 50 prisoners taken by mounted citizens and contractors.
The Shepherdstown Register reports that a breach at Dam No. 4 is almost closed, with over 100 hands working day and night to close it. The first crib being put in on Tuesday morning (June 22), two more were expected to be in place by the following week. The article reports that both dams should be completed by early summer, and that loaded boats can now pass through the tunnel.
In February of 1865, the courthouse was transferred from Charles Town to Shepherdstown. The courthouse at Shepherdstown was housed in the building which is now McMurran Hall at Shepherd University. The building was originally built by Rezin Shepherd for use as a town hall and was used as a hospital during the civil war Battle of Antietam. Additions were added on either side of the main portion of the building to create offices of the courts.
The Shepherd Normal School (now Shepherd University), was established in the building which had been built by Rezin Shepherd for use as town hall in September. At its opening, the school enrolled 42 students. In 1896, construction was finished on the Normal Building, which became the main building of the college. The life of the building was cut short by fire March 9, 1901 and was replaced by the Knutti Hall. For more on the history of Shepherd University, see their historic tour.
A report that the railroad would soon be run from the Old Furnace up the river to the old Adams stone quarry, thence to the Virginia Ore Bank, and probably on to Shepherdstown, is current, and much discussed among the people in the Eastern half of Jefferson County.
It is reported that the demand for coal in Washington is high. Business on the canal is booming during this period of time.
A reunion is held for veterans and their families at Moler Crossroads. Although the day was cold and cloudy, the newspaper reports that about four or five hundred people were present.
It is reported that the limestone business in the Eastern section of Jefferson County is once again booming.
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