The Curious History of Blannerhassett Island
On October 21st, 2023, Liz and I went with some friends on a day trip to Blennerhassett Island.
Initially, we worried our sternwheeler ride to the island was going to be rainy, but we were lucky enough the forecast was incorrect. The clouds broke up and gave us a good bit of sunlight.
We took a tour of the mansion and our guide gave us a full history lesson about the Blennerhassett family.
The Blennerhassett saga is filled with tragedy, betrayal, and even allegations of treason against a young United States by a man who had already “accidentally” committed treason just around 25 years earlier.
If you look at the 500 acre (202.34 hectare) island from above, Blennerhassett is shaped almost like a long-tapered hourglass. It started as Shawnee land used for farming on several islands which eventually united as a single bar in the Ohio river. George Washington mentioned it as the “Little Kenhawa,” but he was just passing through. First Island, Second Island, Four-Acre Island and Towhead Island were the original names before they merged into one, and there were records of a cabin owned by Delaware tribe leader Nemacolin.
The island was not surveyed until 1784, so from the 1770s into the 1780s, it served as a home to river travelers and some squatters. After it was surveyed, it was owned by one man for three years until it was purchased by Harman Blennerhassett, an Anglo-Irish lawyer with a family history in County Kerry, Ireland, traced to England’s King John. Blennerhassett was a member of the Society of United Irishmen (SUI), but he was uncomfortable with their militant reform. His father died in 1792, and he inherited a fortune.
SUI began establishing plans to rebel against British rule. Some sources show Blennerhassett’s decision to move to the Ohio River was because he did not agree with the rebellion and he worried he would be tried for treason. Others claim it was based on avoiding criticism for marrying his niece. Either way, he bought what was called either Belpre Island or Backus Island in 1798. His eponymous mansion took two years to complete and he and his wife stayed in an old blockhouse. The island was full of farm land for various crops and the area served as an important trading area for the local Natives and the American settlers.
Blennerhassett’s European-style estate featured his two-winged mansion shaped like a horseshoe and extravagant gardens and lawns. Very briefly, the mansion was known as the “largest, most beautiful private residence in the American West.” The center served as the main living quarters and the wings served as the kitchen and Blennerhassett’s library, his laboratory, and an office where he worked on music composition, studied astronomy, and even almost burned the house down with chemical experiments (this turned out to be foreshadowing). He had lavish carpets, silver doorknobs, and solid marble fireplaces. The value was listed as $60,000 ($1.5mil in 2025).
For about a decade, Blennerhassett hosted many parties on the island. Guests included the future King Charles X of France, Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, Walt Whitman, and John “Johnny Appleseed” Chapman, who supposedly planted some trees on the island.
In 1806, Blennerhassett welcomed a guest who started his downfall. Two years before, former Vice President Aaron Burr had killed President Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, NJ, and he was still wanted for treason. Burr had plotted with General James Wilkinson to set up an independent country after the Louisiana Purchase. The original plan was leaked (probably by Wilkinson) to President the next President Jefferson.
Burr was on the run, regrouping, and seeking funding. Blennerhassett was rich and naïve enough to provide what Burr felt he needed. Many scholars see Blennerhassett as less of a villain and a traitor, and more of a "useful idiot" in Burr’s scheme. Once President Jefferson learned of Blennerhassett’s involvement, he sent soldiers to detain him. By the time the soldiers arrived, Blennerhassett had already departed down the river.
Blennerhassett moved into his mansion in 1800, and by 1811, it was plundered and it burned down. Like Burr, Blennerhassett was eventually acquitted of his charges. He ran and failed a cotton plantation in Mississippi until he went to the island of Guernsey where he died with almost nothing left.
The island quietly faded back into obscurity where it served as farm land. From the 1890s until 1913, it became a park called the Blennerhassett Pleasure Ground. This park had amusement rides, a shooting gallery, a baseball diamond, a boxing ring, a bowling alley, and a dance pavilion. In 1913, all of these things were wiped away by an infamous flood.
As early as the 1920s, there were proposals for a State Park, but it wasn’t until 1973 when the historical interest in the island was revived. The foundation was reviewed archaeologically, and thousands of letters shared between the Blennerhassetts and their friends and family members helped in the reconstruction of the mansion. There were also many paintings and prints of the mansion used for reference. The park handlers worked to match wall paint colors and wallpaper prints along with several authentic pieces of furniture. Some of the traceable original items on display are a corner washstand in a bedroom, an octagonal parlor table and a garden bench that may have fallen off the flatboat as Mrs. Blennerhassett left the island.
