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For more than 35 years, the Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park has showcased the history of the Mid-Ohio Valley and its people.
The park, which commemorated 35 years of operation on July 27, has been a place where the past has come to life through tours and programs centered around the reconstructed Blennerhassett Mansion on the island. The history of the area is presented through various programs at the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History in downtown Parkersburg and the resources that have been available to the area in chronicling and presenting the area’s history since the park opened.
From the Blennerhassetts and their mansion to the connection with Aaron Burr and his supposed treason, the island has always had a unique aura about to it.
“There is no other place like it in the U.S.,” said Ray Swick, historian for Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park and the museum.
Surrounding the island is the love story of Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, the supposed Burr treason which Swick said more and more historians are questioning and the mansion itself, which had originally been recognized as one of the finest homes west of the Appalachian mountains.
In 1806, Harman became entangled in a mysterious military enterprise with Aaron Burr. As a result, President Thomas Jefferson accused both men of plotting treason in attempting to establish an empire in the Southwest, according to the Blennerhassett Island website. Some have said Burr plotted his supposed treason at the mansion.
“I think Blennerhassett Island has always been a cultural landmark for West Virginia,” Swick said. “It put western Virginia on the international map by having the ‘Burr Conspiracy’ connected to it.”
The park on the island is actually the third park to operate on the island,” Swick said.
A park was on the island from 1886-1912 and was wiped out in the 1913 flood, Swick said. Another park, owned by Amos Kilgore Gordon Sr. was private and people needed permission to go there while it was on the island from 1935 to 1955.
Initial efforts in the 1950s tried to get Blennerhassett Island designated as a federal park. It was a cattle and corn farm for a number of years in the mid-20th century. The island has always been a site for recreational activities and people have regularly called for the establishment of a park on the island since the late 19th century, Swick said.
“Our current park has lasted longer than any of the others,” he said. “It was the only one that was state run. It is still going strong 35 years later.”
The park officially opened July 27, 1980. In its first season, attendance was represented by all 50 states and a number of foreign countries.
The push to establish the current park came as a result of “Bicentennial Fever” which was sweeping across the nation in the 1970s as federal and other money was available for areas to develop their historical sites.
State-funded archaeological excavations were begun on the island in 1973 and continued in 1974, resulting in the discovery of both prehistoric Indian burial grounds and villages and the original stone foundations of the Blennerhassett Mansion which had burned 162 years before, Swick said.
A lease management contract was worked out in the 1970s for the establishment of a park with DuPont, who had owned the island since 1966. The first staff was hired in 1978.
Daniel B. Fowler Sr. was the first president for the Blennerhassett Historical Park Commission, a group tasked in the mid-1970s to oversee the formation of the park.
“There had been a number of people with the desire to develop Blennerhassett Island for over a century, but nothing happened,” he said.
When the movement began to gain momentum, many people favored developing the island while some felt the island should be left as it was, Fowler said.
Some early ideas included doing a large-scale outdoor drama incorporating the Blennerhassett’s story with what happened with Aaron Burr. That had a number of problems with it and did not move forward.
However, work was begun to clean up the island which had become overgrown.
“It really is a very beautiful place,” Fowler said.
Swick said there was little opposition to the park locally with many groups volunteering to do work to help get things up and running.
“The only concern was over possible flooding,” he said. “We ended up raising the mansion site six feet which would elevate it above the 100-year flood plain.”
Soon after the park opened in 1980, people began asking when the mansion was going to be rebuilt. A groundbreaking to start the reconstruction of the Blennerhassett Mansion occurred in June 1984. Over the next few years parts of the mansion were worked on as money became available.
On April 30, 1987 the summer kitchen received its first visitors. This, the mansion’s south wing building, was the first interior part of the house to be completed, furnished and opened for tours.
On July 1, 1989, the park officially entered the West Virginia State Parks system.
“Officials believed it was time to complete the mansion,” Swick said.
Work was resumed on the great house and on October 6, 1990, the north wing building, Harman Blennerhassett’s study was dedicated. On July 4, 1991, the interior of the central house was completed and opened by Governor Gaston Caperton. More than 1,500 people were escorted through the house by costumed docents.
Fowler said there were some people against rebuilding the mansion saying it would not be the same as restoring something.
Fowler said he pointed out that a number of historical sites around the country had reconstructed buildings.
“Ultimately, the mansion was rebuilt as exact as possible,” he said. “I felt it would be worthwhile and it has become a popular attraction on the island.”
During the time, the island was getting up and going, work was done to establish the museum in Parkersburg.
The park, on Dec. 21, 1983, purchased the old four-story building at the corner of Second and Juliana streets that use to house the Star Grocer Company since 1902 for $165,000. The museum opened April 30, 1988.
Fowler said the museum was originally planned for a site on Fort Boreman Hill, but it was decided to put the museum in the downtown area.
The museum was put in place to keep the attention of the community and visitors when the island was inaccessible in the off season.
Local business leaders and bankers came together to raise the money to buy the first Blennerhassett antiques for the park, Fowler said adding local government leaders worked to help make the park a reality.
“It really brought the community together for a common goal,” Fowler said. “It remains one of the proudest achievements of my life.”
Getting Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park established helped lead the way to starting the Oil and Gas Museum as well as efforts to preserve Henderson Hall and other historical sites, Fowler said.
“It made a lot of people aware of the area’s cultural past,” he said.
Only two staff members have been with the park since it officially opened, Swick and Activities Coordinator Pam Salisbury.
Salisbury said during the time the park has been in place, it has been a great boost for the community, both historically and educationally, especially for the schools.
“It has helped plant that seed of interest in history for many,” she said.
People enjoy the sternwheeler rides to the island as well as the tranquil setting on the island, Salisbury said.
In addition to the park staff, there have been many volunteers who have come throughout the community to help on the island and in the museum, conducting tours, helping out in the gift shop and more.
“It has been a labor of love for all of us,” Salisbury said. “It gets into your blood and it just kinda stays there. It has been a real adventure.”
Having the park in place has allowed research and work to be done on the history of the area.
“A lot of its history has been lifted out of the realm of folklore and into proved scholarly history as opposed to myth and romance,” Swick said.
For many years, many of the local stories, especially those related to Blennerhassett Island, had errors and other mistakes in the recounting.
“More solid research came to the fore by having the location in place,” Swick said.
Officials estimate the park has received over 950,000 visitors since becoming a state park.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park would not be where it was without the community’s support.
“What we have is government fostered, but much of what we have came from grassroots support,” Swick said. “It is the many volunteers who give their many hours to operate the tours, run the gift shop and who help out with special events.
“They are really our life blood. We never had much money here. It has always been a labor of love for those who have been here for over the 35 years. The park continues to be a living testimony to that.”