Lynn Receives DST Arts & Letters Award

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At its annual Jazz Brunch and Silent Auction on April 25, the Eastern Panhandle Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. presented its 2026 Arts & Letters Award to Lynn Pechuekonis. The award recognizes her commitment to preserving the history of the community through her written works.

The event souvenir booklet included the following information:

Lynn Pechuekonis a historian and author residing in scenic Harpers Ferry. After a distinguished career in communications at the University of Virginia, she returned to her home state and developed a deep passion for uncovering and preserving the rich history of Black residents in the region. Her books include Among the Mountains: The Lovetts and Their Hill Top House and Man of Sterling Worth: Professor William A. Saunders of Storer College, both published by the Harpers Ferry Park Association.

Lynn resides in the Saunders home–just one block from the former Storer College–where she and her husband, Christian, operate a charming bed and breakfast.

A dedicated community advocate and storyteller, Lynn regularly leads lectures and guided tours highlighting Harpers Ferry Black heritage, from the Reconstruction era through the Civil Rights Movement. She continues to give back through her service as chair of the Harpers Ferry – Bolivar Historic Town Foundation, secretary of the Harpers Ferry Board of Zoning Appeals, and as a member of the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors.

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New Book Explores Little-Known History Of Black-Owned Hotel In Harpers Ferry

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A vista atop Magazine Hill overlooks the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers as they converge at Harpers Ferry. From above, visitors can watch the two bodies of water taper into one, cutting east through the mountains.

Today, the overlook is surrounded by chain-link fences and construction equipment — remnants of an ongoing development project. But just a few years ago, something else stood at the site: one of the most iconic buildings in Harpers Ferry.

In 1890, a pair of Black newlyweds named Lavinia and Thomas Lovett opened an inn and restaurant there called Hill Top House. Despite the rampant racial discrimination Black Americans faced in the Jim Crow era, they successfully ran the hotel for 35 years, serving a multiracial clientele.

Yet local historian and author Lynn Pechuekonis says many people who visit town do not know the story of the Lovett family, including some of those for whom Hill Top House was once a familiar sight.

That is why she wrote her latest book, Among The Mountains: The Lovetts And Their Hill Top House — to ensure the Lovetts claim their rightful place in the annals of West Virginia history.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON WV PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Categories: Books

Man of Sterling Worth: Professor William A. Saunders of Storer College

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Lynn’s latest book!

For 88 years after the end of the Civil War, Storer College educated hundreds of African Americans who gathered on its campus in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. This is the story of Storer’s longest serving black teacher. A Storer graduate himself, William Allen Saunders became the school’s beating heart. He was known as a devoted friend of struggling youth, who not only boarded students in his home but was said to do everything in his power to aid their progress. While Storer College helped make “Prof Saunders” the man he was, he taught so many courses over so many years and touched so many lives that he, in turn, significantly impacted the twentieth century Storer experience.

Over his 54 years as a resident of Harpers Ferry, Saunders also became a trusted spiritual leader and a well-known figure throughout the thriving Black community then living beyond Storer’s campus. All of these aspects are explored here by author Lynn Pechuekonis, who resides in Saunders’ former home.

This book uniquely turns its focus on Black life both at Storer College and in Harpers Ferry during the Jim Crow era—all viewed through the lens of this dedicated teacher who was praised as a “man of sterling worth” and the “friend of every righteous cause.”

Order your copy from the Harpers Ferry Park Association Bookshop.

Interviews & Reviews

WVPB -Biography Details Life Of Longest Serving Black Teacher At Harpers Ferry’s Storer College

Harpers Ferry writer spotlights a prominent Storer College teacher
Spirit of Jefferson, October 12, 2022

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