Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River.

Established on December 23, 1762, by consecutive acts passed by the Virginia House of Burgesses and approved by the governor, Mecklenburg (later renamed Shepherdstown), and Romney in Hampshire County are the oldest towns in West Virginia.

[5] On a list of more than 30 approved "publick and private bills" of that date, the bill containing An Act for establishing the town of Mecklenburg, in the county of Frederick immediately follows An act for establishing the town of Romney, in the county of Hampshire, and for other purposes therein-mentioned.

[6] The first British colonial settlers began their migration into the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley in the early 18th century.

In 1734, Thomas Shepherd (1705–1776) was granted 222 acres (90 ha) on the south side of the Potomac, along the Falling Spring Branch (now known as the Town Run).

Naming his town Mecklenburg, he petitioned the Virginia General Assembly for a charter, which was granted in 1762.

It never floods, nor runs dry; it meanders through backyards, under houses, across alleys and beneath five streets.

The troops departed from "Morgan's Spring," about one-half mile (0.80 km) south of the town limits, on July 16, 1775.

This famous "Beeline March to Cambridge" covered 600 mi (970 km) in 24 days.

On December 3, 1787, James Rumsey conducted a successful trial of his new invention, the steamboat, in the Potomac at the north end of Princess Street.

The first newspaper—The Potomac Guardian and Berkley Advertiser—and book (The Christian Panoply) in what is now West Virginia were published here (1790s).

Roofing material affected the market value and the insurance premiums of the brick structures.

Fires starting in the shingles destroyed many brick homes, mills, stores and outbuildings.

Running along the Maryland side of the Potomac River, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal reached Shepherdstown in the early 1830s.

The Hamtramck Guard (The Shepherdstown Light Infantry) was dispatched to nearby Harpers Ferry to subdue John Brown's raid on the federal armory (October 1859).

After the nearby Battle of Antietam in Maryland, September 17, 1862, General Robert E. Lee's infantry crossed the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford.

Billed as the most haunted town in America, Shepherdstown is known as much for its ghostly residents as it is for the local arts scene, university, and historic attractions.

[11] On June 12, 2016, Destination America’s premiered the paranormal show Ghosts of Shepherdstown, starring Nick Groff, Elizabeth Saint, and Bill Hartley.

Shepherdstown is located in the upper Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.37 square miles (0.96 km2), all land.

[12] Bedrock exposures of Cambrian-aged Conococheague limestone and dolomite are frequent in the town, and form cliffs between the settled area and the Potomac River.