Western Carolina University WCU University of North Carolina Asheville UNCA

Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all
University of North Carolina Asheville (6) View all
WCU - Western Carolina University Publications

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

items 8 of 20 items
  • wcu_publications-17798.jpg
Copyright Download
Item 1 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17791.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_01
Item 2 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17792.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_02
Item 3 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17793.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_03
Item 4 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17794.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_04
Item 5 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17795.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_05
Item 6 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17796.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_06
Item 7 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17797.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_07
wcu_publications-17798.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_08
Item 9 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17799.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_09
Item 10 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17800.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_10
Item 11 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17801.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_11
Item 12 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17802.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_12
Item 13 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17803.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_13
Item 14 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17804.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_14
Item 15 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17805.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_15
Item 16 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17806.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_16
Item 17 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17807.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_17
Item 18 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17808.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_18
Item 19 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17809.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_19
Item 20 - Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09
wcu_publications-17810.jpg

Western Carolinian Volume 64 (65) Number 09

HL_WesternCarolinian_1999-10-20_Vol64_No09_20
Item
?

Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • 8 Carolinian FEATURES October 20,1999 The Blennerhassett House of W.Va.: Hallowed Ground for a History Buff by Jeff Leatherwood Staff Writer PARKERSBURG, WV - Parkersburg is a rather picturesque West Virginia town on the Ohio River. Full of Victorian houses dating from the Civil War and the Gilded Age, the town's riverfront is believed to be haunted. Over my fall break, I joined local storytellers on a ghost walk, which ultimately proved fruitless. No apparitions or eerie sounds emanated from the houses we passed. As a historian and a journalist, I am inclined to disbelief, anyway. Too many times, these impressions are tricks of excited human imagination. But after my visit to nearby Blennerhassett Island, I left Parkersburg with my own doubts questioned. Could the spirits of days past walk again in the present? Why did I go to Parkersburg, anyway? The answer lies within my passion for American history. I recently presented a research paper for my department at the Undergraduate Exposition entitled Treason Island. I learned that Parkersburg was the home for everything to do with my subject, the Aaron Bun* Conspiracy of l SOS- ISO?. At the risk of boring people who do not share my love of the past, I am going to describe this scene from the early 1800s, when our nation was newly born. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was our third president. The Vice-President at the time was a colorful and controversial man named Aaron Burr. The two men were not very good friends, because they had been rivals for the presidency. But Burr's greater enemy was Alexander Hamilton, who masterminded our Federal Treasury. Hamilton had repeatedly denounced Burr until the outraged Vice-President challenged him to a pistol duel in New Jersey. When Burr killed Hamilton, he effectively killed his own political career. He was dropped by Jefferson in the next election. Burr travelled westward toward the Mississippi River in search of allies for a new scheme, which involved colonizing Texas territory and leading paramilitary forces into Mexico. He had the support of Major General James Wilkinson, the most corrupt American to wear the uniform. But the most unlikely addition to Burr's conspiracy was an eccentric Irish-American who lived on an island paradise near Parkersburg. Harman Blennerhassett owned most of the island, which was given his name after these events. A trained lawyer and amateur scientist, he was of a noble Anglo-Irish family with a fortune and a title. But his >.«^m*»::»:~i::«>*s«>?±^:^>*»: ■:;.:^:.:*:SW:~*>:^^^ fflDBffi eMBROIOeRVAMO LETTERING Tate. &7*gs.. CktA* -Starts* And More». 528 Centennial Drive, Cullowhee email: www.simpiytees@yahoo.com The Blennerhassett home in Parkersburg, West Virginia. photo by Jeff Leatherwood revolutionary actions in 1790s Ireland and his choice to marry Margaret Agnew drove him from Great Britain to the isolation of the Ohio River Valley. Margaret Agnew was as beautiful as Harman was awkward. They would have children and prosper together in the eight years they lived on the island. But their marriage was marred by the fact that Margaret and Harman were niece and uncle. This practice was frowned upon by the Church of England, but still accepted among noble families in Europe. Nonetheless, it was a secret they hid from their Virginia and Ohio neighbors, who held their wealthy neighbors in awe and admiration. Lavish parties were common affairs on the beautiful river isle, where Margaret would show off her well-appointed house and beautiful gardens. She was also an accomplished horsewoman. Harman acted as doctor to local families, innoculating them against smallpox. His talents also included the violin and astronomy. Fortunes changed when Aaron Burr discovered and befriended the nobles in exile. For Burr's part, his friendship was sincere, but it spelled doom for the naive Blennerhassetts. Through the year 1806, Burr used the island as his main headquarters. Margaret entertained the charismatic Burr and his fabled daughter Theodosia while her husband planned for their eventual exodus to Texas territory. But President Jefferson had been keeping tabs on his former lieutenant, and Federal forces under the deceitful General Wilkinson arrested Burr and Blennerhassett while their party sailed down the Mississippi. The Burr Trial of 1807 failed to convict either man of treason, but it was a hollow victory. Harman Blennerhassett's beautiful island home was gone, confiscated as evidence by the Federal government. Margaret had been held under house arrest by militia, who took pleasure in looting the small mansion. When she was released to join Harman, she left her beloved gardens and the grave of an infant daughter behind. She would never see her estate again. The Blennerhassetts tried cotton farming in Mississippi and then sought homes in Canada and England. Harman died a pauper on the British isle of Guernsey in 1835, and Margaret returned to America in an unsuccessful bid to win her home back, or at least to receive compensation for its seizure by the government. She died in 1842 just as the U.S. Senate opened her case. The deserted mansion burned in 1811, and for over 150 years the island was spoken of in hushed whispers. It took on proportions of the Garden of Eden, with Burr in the undeserved role of Satan. Parkersburg began to attract romantics in search of the fabled island during the 19th century. Walt Whitman stayed there several times. Toward our own century, the legend began to fade as people stopped caring. But when archaeologists unearthed the mansion's foundation in 1973, public interest was renewed in the fascinating Blennerhassett story. Today, the island is a West Virginia state park, and its directors have rebuilt the lovely house, which hosts reenactments of Early Republic life. Actors take the part of the Blennerhassetts and their guests during the period before Aaron Burr's arrival. The experience of riding down the Ohio River on a stern wheeler was a new one for me, and I could almost imagine myself on a flatboat during the isle's glory years. If you pass through West Virginia, it is a worthwhile stop. To me, history holds the best ghost stories. Does Margaret Blennerhassett, who was reburied on the island, truly walk the shores at night? Can one hear the sounds of long-ago parties and merrymakers in the restored mansion? Imagination, as I said before, can play tricks on the mind, and I am a very imaginative skeptic.
Object
?

Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).

Related items

Part of Collection

Western Carolina University Publications

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University’s student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolin...

View collection Read introduction
panzoom image
wcu_publications-17798.jpg