Historic Perkins House Hits Auction Block

• {West Virginia}...Real estate agents are taking offers for the Historic Perkins House, a  7,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Queen Anne Victorian Charles Town mansion that sets on the site where abolitionist John Brown was hanged for treason. An auction is set for September 11th with an opening bid of $950,000, but potential buyers can begin making private offers now. The mansion was built in 1891, about 30 years after Brown was hanged. The execution site is in the yard, marked by a white obelisk. In 1859, Brown attacked a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, planning to seize weapons, arm a guerrilla force and start a revolution to end slavery. But it was quashed within 48 hours.