Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park Overview & History

Park Overview

Located on a small island in the Ohio River, Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park features a replica Palladian mansion on the island and a museum of regional history located in Parkersburg. This unique state park is visited by 40,000 people each year. This historical park is accessed by a sternwheeler riverboat from Point Park on 2nd Street in Parkersburg. Once on the island, visitors may enjoy tours of the grounds and mansion, as well as horse-drawn carriage rides. Tours are offered when the park is open, from May through the last weekend of October. “Mansion by Candlelight” is a premiere event for two nights only in October. Other special events are offered throughout the year.

Park History

The history of Blennerhassett Island has made it the Ohio River’s most famous island. In 1789, the island was settled by Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, wealthy Irish aristocrats fleeing political persecution and personal scandal. Over the years, the couple’s mansion gained a reputation for being the West’s most beautiful home. Then, in 1805, they allowed their estate to become headquarters for Aaron Burr’s military expedition to the Southwest, an episode that raised the island to national renown and awarded it a permanent footnote in American history. The Burr conspiracy, which is suspected to have involved a treasonous plot to create a new country independent of the United States, has become the subject of many stories, poems, artwork and Broadway shows. The Blennerhassetts fled the island when Burr’s scheme collapsed but the mansion and history remain.