The Blennerhassetts & The Ohio Frontier
Plus Parkersburg during the Gilded Age
3 Days | Spring | Summer | Fall
Starting At $Flexible Pricing
This story/tour begins in 1803 on the American Frontier, with a tale of romance, a white mansion in the wilderness and a blissful life; all shattered by politics and greed, ending with charges of treason and conspiracy. Visit the early American Frontier while lodging in luxury accommodations from the 1890’s Gilded Age. Built in 1803 on an Island in the middle of the Ohio River, at a time when the neighbors lived in log cabins, this was a paradise on the frontier – a veritable Eden on the River.
Highlights
Tour Highlights:
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Tour Inclusions:
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U S Tours Flexible Pricing:
- Customizable Comps
- Net Rates
- Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
- Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available
Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs. Just let us know!
Itinerary
Day 1 – Parkersburg, WV – Blennerhassett Hotel Lodging – Jazz dinner
Your arrival in Parkersburg should be in time for dinner tonight. You will be lodging at the luxurious Blennerhassett Hotel, built in the historic Queen Anne style, in a historic downtown. This hotel opened in 1889 as new money from oil and natural gas flooded into Parkersburg. During this boom the town quickly became a vivacious city and the hotel a grand showplace for what would later be known as the Gaslight Era.
Dinner this evening will be a wonderful pre-set menu in a private room with a Jazz Band. A nice meal with entertainment and a small dance floor should your guests be so inclined. (D)
Day 2 – Oil & Gas Museum – Riverboat to Blennerhassett Island – Smoot Theatre Tour
You begin this day with a short visit to the Oil & Gas Museum featuring this area‘s history from the period of its greatest growth the 1880’s. Next is a visit to the Bennerhassett Museum, dedicated to the story of a young family who arrived here when it was very much the American Frontier. The Blennerhassetts were Irish Aristocrats traveling by flatboat down the Ohio River when they found an Island that would serve as their home.
You will also arrive on Blennerhassett Island by boat, a Riverboat though. Here you will tour a home that was at one time the most beautiful on the American Frontier (c.a.1804). The Bennerhassett’s with cash money lived here like royalty, until that lifestyle was lost because of their involvement in a scandal, called a treasonous conspiracy, with former VP Aaron Burr. Once on the island, a costumed guide will lead you through the reconstructed mansion.
Afterwards you have time to explore the island on a nature, walk, wagon ride or a bicycle. You will also find a gift shop and refreshment stand.
But, the day’s itinerary isn’t complete without a little shopping! Your group will enjoy visiting Mulberry Lane Country Store (the largest country store in the state.
This evening you enjoy a second wonderful meal at a local restaurant. Followed by a conversation with a Harmon Blennerhassett (character actor) (B,D)
Day 3 – Henderson Hall – Depart for Home
This morning as you leave Parkersburg, .visit Historic Henderson Hall, built in 1859 as the centerpiece of the 2,600 acre plantation, it is an impressive 17-room pre-Civil War mansion with all of its original furnishings. It survives today as a legacy of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Following this visit you are on way toward home. (B)