The Old Market House

Standing in the middle of King Street near its intersection with German Street, Shepherdstown’s Old Market House occupies a place that has brought townspeople together for more than two centuries. Its white walls, stepped front, and unusual eye above the entrance give it a distinctive appearance. Behind those features is a history of farmers, fraternal meetings, firefighters, prisoners, and generations of library readers.

The town built the market house in 1800 on ground already used for trading. Originally, it was an open pavilion, with brick piers supporting a roof that sheltered the market below. Farmers could bring their produce to a central location where residents gathered to buy provisions and exchange news. The enclosed building seen today developed through later alterations.

In 1845, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows added a second story for its meeting hall. In return, the organization received a remarkably ambitious lease lasting 999 years. Its presence also left the building’s most memorable ornament: an all-seeing eye resting above a Bible, surrounded by rays. Representing the watchful eye of God, the symbol remains above the entrance long after the lodge’s departure. The lease ended in 1962, considerably sooner than its original terms anticipated.

When the market closed in the 1850s, the open stalls were enclosed, and the building continued serving the town in other ways. Over time, it accommodated a firehouse, council chambers, a private school, and a meat market. A public hog pen and whipping post had once stood at its southern end, reminders that this central gathering place also belonged to the practical—and sometimes harsh—business of governing a small town.

One of its longest chapters began through the efforts of the Shepherdstown Women’s Club, which founded the community library in 1922. Volunteers operated it with donated funds for roughly fifty years. Books initially shared the building with the town jail; the jail cells were finally removed in 1948. Later, the former Odd Fellows meeting room upstairs became additional library space, including a children’s department.

The library moved to a larger home in July 2022, and the Old Market House subsequently became the Shepherdstown Visitors Center. Its purpose changed again, but its connection to community life continued. A building first created to welcome farmers and customers now welcomes people discovering the town, with the old eye still watching over the entrance.