Blennerhassett Island Historical Park

Harman Blennerhassett settled on the wilderness island in 1798, where he built a magnificent mansion. Designed in the Palladian style the house contained 7,000 square feet of floor, furnished with furniture purchased in London and Baltimore, oriental carpets, oil paintings, and porcelain made in Paris. The hardware on some of the interior doors was made of silver. Alabaster lamps were suspended from the ceilings by silver chains. A 2 1/3 acre flower garden and two huge lawns surrounded the house. He lost it all in 1806 when becoming a fugitive. The Island is noteworthy historically for other reasons. During the 1760s, the famous Delaware Indian, Nemacolin, made the island his home. In addition, it was visited by many renowned figures including George Rogers Clark, King Charles X of France, Johnny Appleseed, Henry Clay and Walt Whitman.