An Island Destination
The name of Blennerhassett Island first crossed my mind when my husband and I were driving from St. Clairsville, Ohio to Charleston, West Virginia to visit our daughter and her family. I noticed signs along the road, but I had never heard of the place. One day, I asked Marty if he knew anything about Blennerhassett Island. He said it was somehow connected to the infamous Aaron Burr. Well, we enjoy visiting history, so we decided to pay Blennerhassett Island a visit.
Beautiful Blennerhassett Island is located in the Ohio River just outside Parkersburg, West Virginia. The island can only be reached by sternwheel boat, a lovely preface to the car-free environment at the end of the ride. Disembarking and setting foot on dry ground, one first reaches a rustic, picnic-style snack bar which offers surprisingly delicious sandwiches and salads. From there, one has a spectacular view of the mansion.
The Blennerhassett’s carefully restored colonial home is surrounded by trees, gardens, and landscaped grounds, but it was not the dwelling of the original occupants of the island. There is much more history to unpack. Once this land was the home of a community of Native Americans.
The History of Blennerhassett Island
It was in the late ‘70s that David Fuerst was hired to come to the island to dig. What he found was the “remains of a village, including homes, a central gathering place for the village, pottery, arrowheads, tools and more,” even human remains of the dead that the villagers had buried. The people were farmers, growing corn, beets, and squash.
The village was located towards the back end of the island on the side facing West Virginia. Fuerst referred to its occupants as “The Fort Ancient Indian Culture” a name given to early dwellers throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. They occupied the region from the 1180s to the mid 1600s. The village on Blennerhassett was believed to have been active during the 1200s. Fuerst believes the village probably existed for over 50 years since there were graves found there. After that, the people likely moved on to another location.
The Scandal and the Resettling of Blennerhassett Island
These people were long gone by 1789 when the island was settled by Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, wealthy Irish aristocrats fleeing political persecution and personal scandal. Harman was born in 1765 in England, but grew up in County Kerry, Ireland. Margaret was born on an English estate near the Scottish border. A scandal arose because Margaret’s mother was Harman’s sister. The marriage between uncle and niece was not socially accepted, and Harman’s reported political activities in support of Irish independence drew the threat of arrest, so the couple moved to America and purchased the island.
On the island that would come to bear their name, Harman and Margaret built a mansion to rival Mt. Vernon. Designed in a horse-shoe shape, one wing housed the kitchen and the other, Harman’s office and laboratory. The center held dining rooms and rooms for entertaining along with twelve guest rooms. The home was filled with “elegant furniture, alabaster lamps, oriental carpets, art, a library, a wine cellar and other luxuries.” For eight years, the couple hosted many famous guests for parties, cultured entertainment, and intelligent conversation.
The Intrigue of Blennerhassett Island
Then “one of the most infamous figures of the early American republic arrived: Aaron Burr. His political career was already faltering; the previous year he had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and he was looking to leave the country.
Blennerhassett gave him financial backing, and they started stockpiling supplies and men for some sort of conspiracy to establish their own nation on the frontier, independent from the United States— which had only recently declared its own independence from Britain.
Today, most historians agree that Burr and Blennerhassett were preparing to invade Spanish territory in what is today Texas. That itself was not necessarily illegal, or even looked down upon by many Americans, but, in early 1806, Burr contacted the government of Imperial Spain, laying out plans not just to break off the western part of the United States… but possibly to invade Washington D.C.!”
In that same year, the men fled the island. Burr was eventually acquitted of treason charges, and both he and Harman were released, but their lives and finances were ruined. Burr fled to England, and Blennerhassett began new and mainly unsuccessful ventures in Mississippi, Canada and England.
Sadly, in 1811, the mansion burned to the ground. It is a replica of that mansion that now receives guests to Blennerhassett Island, which has been named a state park.
Famous Persons Who Traveled by Blennerhassett Island
A sign marked “Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park” boasts a list of famous visitors:
1749 — Pierre J. Celoron de Blainville, French explorer
1750 — Christopher Gist, Explorer, soldier
1765 — George Croghan, Indian trader, agent
*1766 — Nemacolin, Delaware Indian Chief
1770 — George Washington, President, United States
1770 — Dr. James Craik, Physician, surgeon
1771 — Colonel William Crawford, Revolutionary War soldier
1771 — Simon Kenton, Explorer, pioneer
1774 — John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, Royal Governor, Virginia
*1781 — George Rogers Clark, Revolutionary War soldier
1782 — John Fitch, Steamboat inventor
1785 — Albert Gallatin, Statesman
1785 — James Monroe, President, United States
*1786 — General Richard Butler, Soldier, Indian agent
1789 — Lewis Wetzel, Scout, frontiersman
1792 — Daniel Boone, Founder of Kentucky
1792 — Rufus Putnam, Soldier, pioneer
1793 — General Anthony Wayne, Soldier
1798 — Louis Philippe, King of France
1803 — Meriwether Lewis, Explorer
*1805 — .General James Wilkinson, Soldier
*1806 — Aaron Burr, Vice President, United States
*1808 — Theodosia Burr Alston, Daughter of Aaron Burr
*1807 — Henry Clay, Statesman
1807 — John James Audubon, Ornithologist
1811 — Nicholas Roosevelt, Engineer, steamboat inventor
1820 — Mike Fink, Keelboatman
1820 — Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Architect
1824 — Anna Maria Josepha de Iturbide, Empress of Mexico
1825 — Marquis de Lafayette, Soldier
1830 — Sam Houston, Soldier, Founder of Texas
1834 — Davy Crockett, Soldier, folk hero
1837 — Andrew Jackson, President, United States
1839 — Ulysses S. Grant, President, United States
1840 — William Henry Harrison, President United States
1842 — Charles Dickens, Author
1843 — John Quincy Adams, President, United States
1848 — Abraham Lincoln, President, United States
1848 — T. J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Soldier
1849 — Stephen Foster, Composer
1849, Zachary Taylor, President, United States
1863 — George Armstrong Custer, Soldier
*1920 — Howard Chandler Christy, Artist
*1974 — Gore Vidal, Author
* Documented to have been on Blennerhassett Island
Today, when visiting this family-friendly destination, one might start with a snack, then play Frisbee or pass a football on the beautiful open field. Then one might move on to tour the incredible, fully restored and furnished mansion where, if luck prevails, a volunteer is on hand to tell the stories in period costume, and perhaps even play the harpsichord. This might be followed by a wagon ride around the island, narrated by one of the knowledgeable guides. A stroll around the stunning grounds ending with a stop at the gift shop rounds out the experience before boarding the sternwheel for the ride back across the river.
If you happen to be traveling on I-77 through (Almost Heaven) West Virginia, or if you live near Blennerhassett Island and have never visited, I highly recommend it. Take the family for a day of fun and pressure-free education.
(Psalm 23:2) “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”
God bless you, and may your travels lead you to a place where you can enjoy green pastures and still waters.
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