Blennerhassett Island

Posted by Nathan

On May 26th 2008 (Memorial Day) we took a trip up to Parkersburg to Blennerhassett Island. It is a WV state park that that showcases the Blennerhassett mansion and grounds on a large island in the Ohio River. Tickets for the ferry across the water are purchased at the museum on 2nd and Juliana St in downtown Parkersburg. The tickets were $8 each (I think, might be mistaken) and the boat ride lasted about 20 minutes. We went up a very tiny spiral staircase to the top deck and took in all of the sights!

The mansion on the island burned to the ground in 1811, forcing the Blennerhassetts to move on. However it was rebuilt during the 1980s on the old foundation by the state of WV, striving to be as similar to the original as possible. It burnt before the invention of the photograph and of the many descriptions and paintings of the original, there is a wild variance in its description. Here is what the mansion looks like today: The mansion is split into three sections. The right side was the library and study, the main section contained the dining rooms, living rooms, and bedrooms. The far left side contained the kitchen.

The Study:


Dining Room:


Chandelier in Foyer:


Master Bedroom:


Kitchen:



There are many things to do on the island, not the least of which is a horse drawn wagon tour:

Bicycles are also available for rent. Of course you can also just walk along the road, admiring the beautiful island. The island is over 500 acres is size, though the state park is less than 200 acres in size. The rest of the island is owned by a company that bought the island to place water pumps on it to pump water to their factory. The acreage for the park is rented to the state.

Though I don’t have any pictures of it, the snack shop there comes highly recommended if you don’t pack your own lunch. The Hot Dogs are the best! Prices aren’t all that bad either, especially since they know they are the only “Restaurant” within sight.

We walked around the park, admiring the stands of Black Walnut Trees, the general scenery, and the occasional wildlife.

When it was all said and done, it was a great trip! I highly recommend anyone in the area who hasn’t been there….plan a day and check it out! Most area elementary schools make yearly trips to the island, that is where my first experience with it came from. Here is one of the last pictures from the island, the boat coming to carry visitors back to shore:
And the last picture of the island on the trip back:
Once you are back on shore, I highly recommend you check out the Blennerhassett Museum if you have time. It has three floors of artifacts dating from the time period and area, as well as artifacts from the area that are MUCH older. Everything from arrow heads, to Mastodon bones, to a plate that George Washington ate off of during the Revolutionary War!

Antique Car:


Painting of original Blennerhassett Island:


Mastodon Leg Bone:
I don’t have time to post anything more on this topic, but I’ve put a link below to the web album of uploaded pictures from the trip. Some are embedded in this post, several are not. If you want to see more click the link below. For more information on the island, please see the official park web site, also listed below.