Thirty-eight Revolutionary veterans are buried in the surrounding area. 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). (The Shepherdstown Public Library has a copy of the book.) Shepherdstown was the birthplace of Robert Lucas (1781), the future governor of Ohio and territorial governor of Iowa. A second charter, which allowed for self-government, was granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1794. In 1798, the corporate limits were extended and the name was changed to Shepherd's Town. After the American Civil War, the town's name was officially contracted to Shepherdstown. The clay soil in the area was conducive to brick making. By the late 1790s, there were several commercial brickyards, and kilns could be built with little difficulty. In many instances, bricks were "burnt" at the construction sites. They were plentiful and cheaper than nails. Roofing material affected the market value and the insurance premiums of the brick structures. Those covered with tile were much more valuable than those topped with wooden shingles. Fires starting in the shingles destroyed many brick homes, mills, stores and outbuildings. The portion of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal along the Maryland side of the Potomac River across from Shepherdstown was built during the 1830s. Shepherdstown is the only town in what is now the state of West Virginia to have a canal lock named for it. Lock No. 38 is the "Shepherdstown Lock." Two free schools were built in the town in 1848. One still stands, on the southeast corner of Princess and New Streets. When West Virginia became the 35th state (in 1863), these became the oldest free schoolhouses in the state. 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). At the outbreak of the Civil War, this group became Company B, 2nd Virginia Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. They become part of the famous "Stonewall Brigade." After the nearby Battle of Antietam in Maryland, September 17, 1862, General Robert E. Lee's infantry crossed the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford.