For $35 in gold Brown rented the farm, which consisted of two log structures, some outbuildings, and a pasture. The main house sat about 100 yards off the public road connecting Harpers Ferry with Boonesborough and Sharpsburg, Md., and contained a basement kitchen and storerooms, a second-floor living room and bedrooms, and an attic. The second floor was used as kitchen, parlor, and dining room, and the attic served as a storeroom, drilling room, and “prison” to keep the men out of sight. Near the farmhouse stood a small cabin that later became a storage place and sleeping quarters for some of the raiders.
The isolated character of the Kennedy farm did not prevent curious neighbors from “dropping in” for a visit.
To help avert suspicion, Brown’s daughter Annie and Oliver’s wife Martha (shown here with her husband in 1859) lived at the farm while the arms and men were being assembled. Martha did the cooking and helped Annie with household chores.
Brown’s chief fear was that neighbors would become suspicious of “Isaac Smith & Sons” and possibly uncover his revolutionary plans. Reasoning that nearby families would be less distrustful with women among the group, he appealed to his wife and daughter Annie at their home in North Elba, N.Y., to come live with him, saying that “It will be likely to prove the most valuable service you can ever render to the world.” Mrs. Brown was unable to make the long journey, but Annie and Oliver’s wife Martha did join him in mid-July. Their presence proved of inestimable value not only in alleviating suspicion but in contributing to the morale of the men. Martha served as cook and housekeeper, preparing meals on a wood stove in the upstairs living room; Annie kept constant watch for prying neighbors. “When I washed dishes,” noted Annie many years later,
I stood at the end of the table where I could see out of the window and open door if any one approached the house. I was constantly on the lookout while carrying the victuals across the porch, and while I was tidying or sweeping the rooms, and always at my post on the porch when the men were eating. My evenings were spent on the porch or sitting on the stairs, watching or listening.
The Kennedy farmhouse served as the base of operations for John Brown’s raiders.
