About This Park

Located on a small island in the Ohio River, Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park features a 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 and 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.

This park does not offer overnight accommodations within the park.

Activities

Select an activity below to learn more
  • Biking
  • Camping
  • Fishing
  • Hiking
  • Museums & Historical Sites
Attraction is located outside of the 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.

 

Additional Information

Walking Tours

Come explore the historical island! Tours of Blennerhassett Island State Park and its reconstructed mansion offers visitors a glimpse of life on a colonial plantation. Volunteers wearing period-accurate costumes conduct tours through the mansion. Self-guided walking tours and horse drawn wagon rides also are available.

Schedule and Operating Hours

Blennerhassett Island is open from early May until the end of October each year. While touring the park, visitors should allow at least three hours for a complete tour. This includes the sternwheeler ride to and from the island. For a sternwheeler ride, mansion tour, and island hours, and the museum schedule and rates, click here. To purchase tickets for sternwheeler rides and other island opportunities click here.

 


To see special events and activities, such as Mansion by Candlelight, check out our calendar of events.

Shopping

There’s plenty of shopping to do for visitors who want to bring a piece of the island back home with them. Experience great hospitality and charm in the shops of Blennerhassett.