On Friday, May 3, the Travel West Virginia class of Chapmanville High
School visited Blennerhassett  Island Historical State Park, one of West Virginia's principal tourist attractions. 26 students and four chaperones took a ferry to the island where several students rented bicycles, while others covered the island's historic trails on foot. Meagan Sellards, a CHS junior, comments, "I liked riding the bike and touring the grounds. It's a pretty place."

Later in the morning, students heard the history of the island as related
by costumed guides who ushered the group through the mansion and its
connected buildings. The mansion complex, although impressive, was somewhat surprising to the travelers. "I expected the house would be larger, but on the whole, I enjoyed the trip very much," said Charlotte
Mullins, CHS junior.

Besides the recontructed model of the Blennerhassett residence, thirteen other historical site have been designated on the island. Among them are the Great Tulip  Poplar, Walnut Plantation; the Neale House, a fine brick home visited by the poet Walt Whitman in 1849; and the Putnam-Houser House, visited by the famous Methodist bishop, Francis Asbury in 1810.