Blennerhasset Hotel – History

Blennerhassett Hotel

320 Market Street

Parkersburg, WV 26101

 

Not many buildings would have survived, let alone thrived in, the destruction this hotel has faced in its lifetime. Natural disasters and tragedies have surrounded the Blennerhassett Hotel ever since its inception. Originally, the hotel was ahead of its time and the true leader of technology advancement in the entire state of West Virginia. However, as time has seemingly passed it by, the hotel has always held true to its roots and kept up with a time period specific décor and grandeur. Through its ups and downs, renovations and expansions, the hotel and its ownership has held up to those standards set by its original owner, a colonel in fact. To this day, the historical and gorgeous building still continues its strive for excellence and unmatched hospitality for all their guests, whether they be from this world or the next.

 

 

The Past

 

As the dust settled following the Civil War, the growing town of Parkersburg, WV was surging and by the 1880’s the gas and oil economic booms erupted all throughout this valley. Along with this increase, the town was open and willing to give these socialite higher ups a more welcoming and inviting living quarters, even if these millionaires were only staying over for a single night. In steps the former Colonel William Nelson Chancellor with a unique wealthy eye and seemingly endless pockets. The leader was integral in pulling together the high class that was so craved for at the time and the upcoming technology and a business sense even bringing in a first floor business suite for more regular monthly income.

 

Even as the ground was broken, in 1883, for the Blennerhassett Hotel it was making history. At that point, West Virginia did not have a high class hotel in the entire state and was still relatively young as it was only founded 20 years prior. Six years later, following its full construction, this hotel was fitted and designed specifically for more modern features, proving its engineering marvel, with gas, electric, and indoor plumbing. As backups, the entire building was also fitted with older generation fixtures like steam heat and gas lights. Aside from these pure facts, the more subjective details, which clearly reflected the owner’s high class and significant wealth, tended to be the highlight of guests stays and a major factor in helping spread the positive reviews which included everything from the lavish woodwork to the high class window finishes and even the opulent furniture which was simply donated from a nearby furniture company. 

 

As the colonel did not have a long term and full love for the hotel business, almost directly following their grand opening and first guest bookings, Chancellor immediately leased the property to George Campbell. Being the first in this position of power, he was given the opportunity to name the hotel. Even though its origins are unknown, he almost chose ‘Hotel Argyle’ as the first and lifetime lasting name. However, he was eventually convinced to name this prestigious hotel the ‘Blennerhassett Hotel’ clearly based on his admiration of Harmon Blennerhassett and his family who settled on the nearby island now also named after the family of ‘Blennerhassett Island.’

 

 

On top of the visual glamor and industrial engineering fetes, the hotel boasted some other innovations leading the way for modern hotels and even sparked the sudden growth of Parkersburg, WV. An electrically controlled elevator was added and operational for the grand opening as well as the storefront below was transitioned into a fully functional restaurant which could hold roughly 75 guests at any given time, and this was more often the not the case, at least at first. Oddly enough, but normal for the time, a top notch kitchen was actually located on the fifth floor as a fire precaution. Two double sized parlors were fabulously furnished and elaborately decorated all the while housing a grand piano. However, its beauty was relatively overlooked by the uncontrollable and raucous crowd outside the hotel overcrowding the street as the management eventually constructed a wire cage around the piano itself to protect it from stray bullets being fired in from the outside both toward and away from this ocean of people. Each floor was completed with public restrooms while every guest room featured their own individual facilities which was new for the time period and thanks to the innovation of indoor plumbing. At the time of its opening, the hotel also featured a full library which was utilized quite often even by non-guests but this was eventually done away with as technology passed the hotel by as a First National Bank of Parkersburg which is still located in this spot. 

 

During its early years, and William Chancellor’s true stronghold on the entire area, Parkersburg actually elected Chancellor to the mayor of Parkersburg; twice. His true wealth came from his tenure in banking and eventual rise to president. He was also the very first president of the First National Bank of West Virginia following the states split from Virginia during the Civil War. Just as the hotel was under construction, that very bank where Chancellor was president was bought and reorganized as United Bank which was almost immediately moved to its current location Market Street due to the president’s persistence for it to be located as close to the heart of the town and, ironically, just around the corner from his hotel. The bank remained here until the mid 1910’s and once it moved out, the Blennerhassett Hotel jumped on the open property and held onto it until the owners decided to make some major renovations to keep the hotel up to date and utilized this space as its new entrance in 1986.

 

The Blennerhassett Hotel still stands to this day, even though no specific tragedies or tales of misfortune have been truly documented or proven, but it has seen more than a lifetime’s worth of natural disasters such as floods but also more man made incidents like fires. However, each occurrence has allowed the hotel to  have truly come out on the bright side, whether it through community outreach and support or renovations which added to its growth and longevity.

 

 

Paranormal Experiences

 

As the hotel has seen a near constant flow of guests and visitors, there has also been an ever changing energy and revolving door of both living and breathing visitors as well as some of those who have already passed on to the other side. Even though the hotel has seen its share of events all throughout its lifetime which could have resulted in leftover energy and ultimately spirits, the majority of these lost souls are said to stem more specifically from the industrial timeframe.

 

The more common occurrences experienced, albeit not as well documented, include many period specific and very unique oddities such as vaudevillians, young children on bicycles, and other full figures pinpointed as wearing time period clothing. All of these entities have been seen wandering the halls randomly and without much interaction or communication.

 

 

Some of the other and more well known tales have not only been repeated regularly but have actually grown and spread far enough to draw in guests who simply want to experience the paranormal side. This is very predominantly depicted by the simply and aptly named ‘Woman in the Elevator.’ This local legend spun out of control in the mid-1940’s as a slew of guests reported seeing a guest walk into the elevator only to realize that the elevator car was actually on a different floor moving in a completely different direction. This was perfectly explained and documented by a moment when a mailman entered the building for his very first visit and met with the current Hospitality Guest Services Specialist, Adam Dotson. Dotson gave him directions, explaining to him that he needed to enter the pair of double doors and enter the elevator to head downstairs. Dotson noted that this particular postman seemed confused and decided to tag along with him. He reached his hand into the elevator door at the last moment and was caught off guard by an extremely confusing question posed by the mailman: “Is this place haunted?” Even though this was odd and seemingly out of the blue, it didn’t entirely shock Dotson. The postman explained his question further by telling the young doorman that he spotted a woman stepping foot on that very elevator just before the door shut. When the mailman reached his hand in to pause the elevator and stepped in, the woman was nowhere to be seen. That was not the last time Adam Dotson would hear a similar tale during his time working at the hotel.

 

Possibly more well known than this story is that of a phantom man wearing a bowler hat. There are two particular locations throughout the hotel where this strange but oft sighted figure has been pinpointed: Dry Storage Area (located in the basement) and Room 409 which is actually located directly above the storage area. Even though it has never been verified, the current theory is that this spirit is connected to the neighboring building; the former Kaltenecker Building. This building was purchased by the Blennerhassett Hotel during its expansion in 1985 and, according to those who believe this claim, seemingly a former disgruntled employee who refuses to leave. However, some others believe that this figure is simply drawn to the upscale hotel from his former home and this is notated by his presence in the only multi story suite in the entire hotel; Room 409. Not only has this same shadowy, dark figure been spotted here, but other strange occurrences have been reported like that of furniture shuffling around in the dead of the night. Even the aforementioned employee of Adam Dotson experienced a combination of loud noises as if a party were occurring in that room one evening when Dotson stayed in the neighboring room of 407. When we approached the suite and realized the lights were out, he asked his coworkers if anyone was in that room to which they replied that the room is reserved for the following weekend but nothing in the meantime. These oddities have been seen on the more tame side of things, however, one guest claimed that their stay in this room resulted in her being held down and attempted to strangle her one morning.

 

 

The Bowler Hat Man is not the only shadow spotted in the hotel. There are other, even more frequent shadows reported in the basement area. Even though these are similar to the Bowler Hat Man, these are more of silhouettes of multiple people and their attire tends to be interchangeable and said to wear everything from trench coats to more furred jackets. Employees, including Dotson, have noted a plethora of otherworldly activity in the Laundry Room, also located in the basement. In this spot, these shadowy silhouettes enter a staircase which leads to the bellhop closet and is located toward the end of the washing machines where no one typically has access. To top this off, and perhaps why Dotson isn’t normally shocked by these tales, a shadow figure clearly walked into his office, located (surprise, surprise) in the basement. At first glance, this shadow was thought to be a server simply wearing all black. However, after he followed them into his unoccupied office they disappeared leaving Dotson scratching his head and with many more questions than a simple “Why are you in my office?”

 

One of the former parlors, particularly the Men’s Cigar and Smoking Room, has been known to draw in specific specters in the former entry doorway. The confusing part is that at the moment, the door facing Fourth Street is bolted shut and truly is only a former entrance and no longer has a function. It’s unknown why this would be such a hot spot for paranormal activity but the most common occurrence here is that of a woman with fiery red hair and wearing a calming blue dress with an outline of a white frill and broach. The more disturbing feature is that of her completely stoic and vacant facial expression. There are a multitude of tales explaining the appearance of this woman but the story which has grabbed the most notoriety was that of the Human Resource Manager of the hotel, Sherry Stevens. She noticed this woman in the late afternoon as Sherry sauntered past this door, glancing into it as she spotted something shining. Inside the empty, dark door, the woman stared back at her, completely plain and straight faced. Stevens brushed this off and acted as if this was a culmination of a long day of work. However, to her dismay, she noticed this woman in the door once again later that week; not only once but twice! Ever since then, she still glances into this door as if this woman is staring back at her, regardless if she was or not.

 

 

With the age of the hotel, it can be no surprise that energies have been left behind in the Blennerhassett Hotel. Hotels leave behind multiple types of extreme energies; both positive and negative. There seems to be no single reason why these spirits have returned, but make no mistake to it, some of the guests to the Blennerhassett Hotel have no choice but to share their space with some of those from the other side,