If you are ever visiting Parkersburg, WV, you must make plans to visit the Historic Blennerhassett  Island State Park. 

 

I have lived all of my life in this town and just never took the time to make a trip to the Historic Blennerhassett Island.  Parkersburg is a town on the  Ohio river and this island is about 2 miles down the river.  Last week, on a beautiful, cool day, my husband and I decided to spend the day here.

We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Point Park. 

This is the location for sternwheeler rides to and from the island.  It is about a 20 minute ride to the island.

I felt excitement as we approached the island on the boat.

After we arrived, we had a picnic (subway sandwiches..LOL)  in front of the beautiful,  reconstructed Blennerhassett Mansion.

We later took a tour of the mansion.  There are people dressed in era clothing that give these tours.  We could not walk all through the rooms or use flashes on our cameras so you can only get an idea of how beautiful this is.

There are too many pictures to show all of them, but here are a few.

The area to the right was Harman Blennerhassett’s study. 

The left is the kitchen. We were not able to see area behind the big fireplace.

When you enter the mansion you are in the grand foyer.  Love the staircase. 

I think that my husband is trying to figure out a way to buy me this island by the look on his face.  I only told him a million times that I want to live here.

Such ornate moldings, lighting, and doorways. There are also parlors and sitting rooms on this level.

The table in the formal dining room is ready for guests.

 

Upstairs is the drawing room, library, nursery, and bedrooms.

The windows are gorgeous.

There is a set of steps where you come down to the back of the house.

There are so many other activities to do while here.

We enjoyed a horse and carriage ride around the island.  The driver gave us a tour with great details on the island’s history. 

We toured another home on the island.  The family that built this home were friends of the Blennerhassetts but this home was originally built in another area and later moved to the island.

I thought the sign in front of the restrooms was very cute. It really is a necessary house.

This sign has the names of some of the famous people through history that had visited the island.  The ones that caught my attention were Daniel Boone, Lincoln, Washington, Jackson, Charles Dickens. and George Custer. 

One that did not show in my picture Johnny Appleseed. Amazing to me the history of this island and it’s visitors.

The island is full of beauty as well as a lot of history.  There is a lot of wildlife there also.  A fox ran in front of us on this day.

Here are just some random pictures of the island.

 

 

 

The body of Margaret Blennerhassett was moved to the island and lies here.  It is behind the mansion.

 At the end of our day, we both felt like we had stepped back in time and was so thankful that we had decided to visit.

Here is a link to the official site for Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park.