Around here
Everything within a short walk, or a short drive
Parkersburg, at the confluence
Downtown is walkable, the river is three blocks away, and most of what is worth seeing is inside twenty miles.
Parkersburg is the county seat of Wood County and West Virginia’s fourth largest city. It sits where the Little Kanawha meets the Ohio, which is the whole reason the town is here and the reason the island downriver mattered enough to put a hotel’s name on it.
What follows is sorted by how far you have to go, because that is the question people actually ask at the front desk.
Places of worship are listed near the bottom.
Blennerhassett Island
The island the hotel is named for sits in the Ohio, and it is reached by sternwheeler from Point Park, three blocks from the front door. The crossing runs about twenty minutes.
On the island: the reconstructed Blennerhassett mansion, horse-drawn wagon tours of the grounds, trails, picnic ground, concessions, and the shop. It is also where Harman Blennerhassett and Aaron Burr laid the plans that ended in a treason indictment in 1806, which is the story the speakeasy takes its name from.
The state park runs May through the end of October. There is a package that pairs a room with the boat, admission, the museum, and the wagon ride.
Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
Access by sternwheeler from Point Park, Parkersburg
304-420-4800
Downtown, on foot
All of these are inside the walkable grid around Market Street.
Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History
Three floors of archaeological and historical exhibits on the Blennerhassetts and the region, a film on the family, and a well-stocked gift shop.
Second and Juliana streets
304-420-4800
The Smoot Theatre
A 1926 vaudeville house still working as a theatre, and the room touring acts play when they come through Parkersburg.
213 Fifth St.
304-422-7529
Discovery World on Market
A STEM museum for children, a few blocks from the hotel. Aimed at ten and under, and the reason the family package exists.
Market Street, downtown Parkersburg
Also downtown
Actors Guild of Parkersburg
A community theatre more than sixty years old, running a full season. Something over ten thousand people come through the doors in a year.
Eighth and Market streets
304-485-1300
Parkersburg Art Center
A contemporary gallery showing regional and national work, with rotating exhibitions, guided tours, and a gift shop.
725 Market St.
304-485-3859
Julia-Ann Square Historic District
A residential district of Victorian-era houses a few blocks from the hotel, walkable on a self-guided route.
Julia and Ann streets, Parkersburg
A short drive
Fort Boreman Historical Park. A partly reconstructed Union fortification with its trenches, interpretive signs, a nature trail, picnic shelters, and the best view of the two rivers meeting. Off US 50 at the Marrtown Road exit.
Henderson Hall. An 1859 house of seventeen rooms, built as the centre of a 2,600-acre plantation and still holding its original furnishings. North of Parkersburg off WV 14, on River Road. 304-375-2129.
Fenton Art Glass, Williamstown. The gift shop of the glass works that made the town’s name, about fifteen minutes upriver.
Almost Heaven swing at the Fort Boreman Historical Park Overlook.
Across the river, in Ohio
Peoples Bank Theatre, Marietta. A restored 1919 theatre on Putnam Street running touring music, film, and comedy. 222 Putnam St., 740-371-5152.
Valley Gem Sternwheeler, Marietta. Offering River Boat Cruises with a variety of shows ranging from cabarets and murder mysteries, to historical figure portrayals and live music. 601 Front Street, 740-373-7862.
Antique Mall of Marietta. 135 Second St., 740-376-0038.
Marietta is worth the visit. It is the older of the two towns and it wears it well.
Golf
Five courses inside about forty minutes.
| Course | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Golf Club of West Virginia | 482 Deerwalk Hwy, Waverly, WV | 304-464-4420 |
| Woodridge Plantation | 301 Woodridge Dr., Mineral Wells, WV | 304-489-1800 |
| Oxbow Golf Course | County Road 85 NW, off US 50, Belpre, OH | 740-423-6771 |
| Mingo Bottom Golf Course | 238 Wells Lock Rd., Elizabeth, WV | 304-275-3378 |
| Rt. 56 Golf Course | Route 56, Ravenswood, WV | 304-273-3396 |
Shopping
| Shop | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Fenton Art Glass Gift Shop | 420 Caroline Ave., Williamstown, WV | 304-375-7772 |
| Holl’s Swiss Chocolatier | 2001 Grand Central Ave., Vienna, WV | 304-295-6576 |
| Blennerhassett Museum Gift Shop | 137 Juliana St., Parkersburg, WV | 304-422-0611 |
| Grand Central Mall | 100 Grand Central Mall, Vienna, WV | 304-485-4464 |
| Mulberry Lane Country Store | 4009 Emerson Ave., Parkersburg, WV | 304-428-1949 |
Worth timing a visit around
A full calendar of events for the area is kept by the Greater Parkersburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Places of worship in Parkersburg
Names and addresses only. Please check service times with the congregation directly.
| Congregation | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Life Center | 3211 Sixth Ave. | 304-422-4895 |
| Downtown Bethel | 517 Market St. | 304-917-4163 |
| Emmanuel Baptist Church | 1710 23rd St. | 304-485-5171 |
| First Baptist Church | 813 Market St. | 304-485-6327 |
| First Lutheran Church | 1701 19th St. | 304-428-6174 |
| First Presbyterian Church | 1341 Juliana St. | 304-422-5426 |
| First United Methodist Church | 1001 Juliana St. | 304-428-0111 |
| Good Shepherd Episcopal Church | 903 Charles St. | 304-428-1525 |
| Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses | 1814 Gihon Rd. | 304-428-1399 |
| Lynn Street Church of Christ | 1714 Lynn St. | 304-428-5145 |
| Parkersburg Seventh-day Adventist Church | 1901 Park Ave. | 304-428-1330 |
| St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church | Market St. | 304-422-6786 |
| St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church | 2500 Dudley Ave. | 304-428-1262 |
| St. Paul Lutheran Church | 3500 Broad St. | 304-428-5826 |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 2515 Capital Dr. | 304-428-2857 |
| The ROCK Parkersburg | 1305 37th St. | 304-422-9605 |
| Trinity Episcopal Church | 430 Juliana St. | 304-422-3362 |
| Worthington Gospel Mission | 4124 14th Ave. | 304-428-6314 |
Within about twenty miles
Vienna, Williamstown, and across the river in Marietta, Ohio.
| Congregation | Where | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| City Bible Church | 1101 46th St., Vienna | 304-916-7414 |
| Faith Baptist Church | 1103 10th St., Vienna | 304-295-8464 |
| Fellowship Baptist Church | 3300 Rosemar Rd., Vienna | 304-295-8982 |
| St. Michael Catholic Church | 55th St. at Grand Central Ave., Vienna | 304-295-6109 |
| The Refuge Church | 5513 Grand Central Ave., Vienna | – |
| Vienna Baptist Church | 3401 Grand Central Ave., Vienna | 304-295-4578 |
| Evergreen Bible Church | 118 W. Ninth St., Williamstown | 304-375-4877 |
| First Baptist Church of Williamstown | 431 Highland Ave., Williamstown | 304-375-5888 |
| First Presbyterian Church of Williamstown | 314 W. Fifth St., Williamstown | 304-375-6211 |
| First United Methodist Church | 304 W. Fifth St., Williamstown | 304-375-6386 |
| Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption | 506 Fourth St., Marietta, Ohio | 740-373-3643 |
| Celebration Center of Marietta | 822 Front St., Marietta, Ohio | 740-374-5350 |
| First Congregational Church | 318 Front St., Marietta, Ohio | 740-373-0741 |
| Freedom Gate Church | 104 Tennis Center Dr., Marietta, Ohio | 740-373-0867 |
| Islamic Center of Marietta | 607 Putnam St., Marietta, Ohio | – |
| Local Church | 113 Ellsworth Ave., Marietta, Ohio | 740-236-3888 |
| Pinehurst Christian Church | 20307 OH-550, Marietta, Ohio | 740-373-1866 |