MARTINSBURG – Every May, Martinsburg’s Heritage Fair and Festival opens up historic sites across the city for residents and visitors alike to experience the town’s history.

One of the biggest parts of Martinsburg’s history on display over Heritage weekend is the Adam Stephen House, the residence of Martinsburg’s founder, Adam Stephen. Stephen originally had about 850 acres of land that he divided into lots and sold, eventually becoming the village of Martinsburg in the early 1770’s.

This year, a new exhibit inside his old house pays tribute to Stephen’s time working as a surgeon. Rose Carter leads that experience, portraying how a period-accurate colonial surgeon would perform medical treatments like amputations.

“A good surgeon can remove a limb in two minutes,” Carter told a group of visitors. “I have it down to 1:40.”

In her presentation, Carter shows visitors the various tools they would use, including bonesaws, leeches and other implements, and even has volunteers from the crowd sit down and pretend to be patients. Carter herself has a nursing degree and has spent a great deal of time studying medical history.

“A lot of people don’t know that about him, and I want to let them experience that,” Carter said. “I let them be a part of it when I’m doing fake surgery.”

So far, Carter says she’s heard nothing but positive feedback from visitors.

Outside of the surgery room, much of the house is as it was when Stephen occupied it, still filled with many of the original furnishings. Showing off those original furnishings and the history surrounding the area is the best part of the job for Curator Keith Hammersla.

Hammersla has been doing tours of the Adam Stephen House since 1992, working in the house and on the museum next door.

“The museum which tells the basic history of how the town was established and what kind of industries were here, and also about the prehistory of the town too, like the Native Americans and the geology with the rocks and fossils,” Hammersla said.

Just below the house is the entrance to a network of tunnels and limestone caves that run under much of the eastern side of Martinsburg, stretching from East John Street to East King Street. The tunnels were uncovered in 2002, after being sealed in the early 1900’s by homeowners who were uncomfortable with children playing in them.

The historic house and museum are located at 309 E. John Street, and are open for tours every weekend, on Saturday’s from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sunday’s from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m.