Places of Interest that must be seen (Parkersburg, Moundsville: hotel, homes)

[Marg]

What are all the places a person must see in the Parkersburg, Ravenwood, Ripley areas, as well as the whole state of West Virginia? I mean like Museums, state parks, tourist spots, etc. If we end up moving to West Virginia we would like to see everything there is to see and learn all about the state where we live. Thank you.

[David Kennedy]

If I was in Parkersburg, I would take the little sternwheeler down to Blennerhasset Island and visit the mansion. It's a 2 bedroom. Was wiped out by flood but completely restored and a vision as to what early american history was like on the Ohio River.
There is a museum of local history there too.
Seneca Glass was one of the last great glass factories of the world, but it closed its doors this spring...This has been a travesty to let this happen. But we still have Blenko!...and Dying Art Glass.
Ripley has Cedar Lakes Park...I attended a conference there this summer...It was beautiful. Ripley is a small town.
West Virginia is loaded with so much..It will take years to see it all. It's like one big park for the east coast.

[BJC]

DK is correct Blennerhasset Island is a must see. I took my mom and her sisters there this past weekend for my mom's birthday. The mansion is built in the same style at Mt Vernon the home of George Washington. It is lovely and has 3 bedrooms and a cute nursery. Be prepared to walk, they have a covered wagon ride. We did not get to do that as we arreived on the 2:00 boat and left on the 4:30 one. Go early, take a lunch and stay all day. It is worth it.

Summersville Lake is beatiful and a must see.

[snorpus]

Tally another vote for Blennerhassett Island. Be sure to allow time to tour the Museum (on shore, near the dock where the paddlewheeler sails from).

Across the Ohio and upriver a few miles is Marietta. Lots of shops and activities in the downtown area.

About an hour downriver from Parkersburg is Pt. Pleasant. Been settled since the French and Indian War days. Site of the "Silver Bridge", which collapsed in December 1967. Home to the infamous Mothman!

Go East on US50 about 20-30 miles, then take country roads to Cairo, a town much unchanged since the oil and gas boom of the late 1800s.

Snorpus

[GottaHerdOn]

For the rest of WV, I would advise trips to: Ride the new Tygart Flyer excursion train from Elkins to the high falls of cheat. Here is a link to that site.

The New Tygart Flyer, scenic train excursion in Elkins and Belington WV (broken link)

Canaan Valley & Blackwater Falls, Seneca Rocks are also pretty amazing as well

[Ceezer]

If you're around Parkersburg then:

In Williamstown is Fenton Art Glass. Rumor has it that they'll be closing down soon so you should take the tour before they do. Fenton glass is collected world-wide.

In Boaz is Henderson Hall. The Hendersons owned much of the land that is now known as WV and Archibald (Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps; Commandant for 40 years) grew up here. My first home was 1/4 mile up river on the same road. They used to do tours of this place.

In Marietta is the Campus Martius Museum which is full of a lot of history of the Mid-Ohio Valley. Marietta was the first settlement in the Northwest Territories and George Washington stated that he knew of no better place to live. Within the museum is the original home of General Rufus Putnam. Behind this museum, down by the Muskingum River, is a smaller nautical museum. I don't remember if it's limited to sternwheelers, or not.

Also in Marietta is the Hippodrome, once the grandest stage in the East. It was the original Broadway. It's now closed and they open it occasionally for haunted house/halloween shows but they don't do regular tours.

There are a lot of burial mounds in the area to see and if you go down to the levy (downtown Marietta, next to the Lafayette hotel) there are some interesting things/placards to see that talk a bit about history (like, Marietta was also home to the first female permanent settler, or something). While you're down at the levy, step into Rossi Pasta for a few bags (and I think they now have a cafe that serves lunch).

There's a castle on 5th street that they give tours through but I think it's a limited schedule. I think there may also be a tour of Underground Railroad homes.

If you're still in Marietta I would go to the west side and either grab a bite at the Busy Bee or the Harmar Tavern (they're famous for their fried bologna sandwich but all their food is good; in the evenings they have $2 mini pitchers). Also over on the west side is a small train museum (you can walk across the train bridge between the west side and downtown; we used to jump off it during the summers...; this is part of the old B&O Railroad) and a small Coca-Cola museum.

In Belpre (up river from Marietta, across from Parkersburg) is the Lee Middleton doll factory , also considered one of the most collected world-wide. They also do tours.

Moundsville, WV is a little more than an hour up the road and I think they do tours of the penitentiary on the weekends. I know they do around October for sure.

Let's see... there's Hocking Hills and Old Man's Caves about 45 minutes away. Those are pretty cool if you're into hiking (they have pretty decent trails). I hear the winter hikes are even more fun.

Hmm. I spent 19 years in this area so I'm probably forgetting about some must-sees that I took for granted but it really is a gorgeous area. I really miss it.

[David Kennedy]

Thanks Cheezer...I'm printing your blog for future use when we are in P-town.

Fenton is closing down...but as an indicator of how gracious those wonderful people are. The have invited competitive West Virginia companies to visit and meet their vendors and show their glass ware. They didn't have to do anything...but they did it for the sake of the glass art..Their company is a treasure that we are sad to lose.

[confusedTee]

Well it's not the area ya mentioned but if ya just out driving u must see NEW RIVER GORGE.............AWESOME................just NOT wintertime when ice is visible..well shoot we do it so u just hop in your 4x4 and pray u can get up to the other side (didn't say we are smart).....NOW that's a ride u won't forget.............gorgeous water and the view u can't beat even in the winter..FREAKIN AWESOME.........

[confusedTee]

OH YEA THE PARKS HAVE WILDLIFE ,THE BEST PART FREE!!!!now try and find that in Fla..LOL drop dead gorgeous.........

[KristieByrd]

Summersville Lake RULES! Its beautiful.