A funeral, 1865 style

Curtains were drawn. Clocks were stopped at the time of death.  Black ribbons circled door knobs, alerting people a resident had died (and so visitors would not wear new clothing inside the home, which was extremely bad luck). Photos of the living were turned face down so the dearly departed could not summon others to the next world.  Mourners refrained from looking in mirrors near the lifeless body, as guests might see an image of the deceased and be the next to die.  And bodies were removed from the home feet first so the dead could not make eye contact and summon the living to “the other side.”  

That’s just part of what we heard from in-costume and in-character guides at the Victorian Funeral Program held at a Marietta, Ohio mansion called “The Castle.” 

At the front door, we were told that the mistress of the house, Charlotte Warner Bell, recently died in child birth and that her infant daughter had died as well.  The first guide played the roll of Charlotte’s bereaved sister.  Wiping her eyes, Charlotte's sister said she would soon become the mistress of the house. Both she and Charlotte’s widower had young children (and her own husband was killed in the Civil War); re-marrying quickly for practical reasons was common.  

When the sister was overcome by “hysteria,” however, we had to leave the room. Others told us about death bed vigils held to make sure the person was really dead and not just in a coma from which they might wake up (hence the term “wake.”)  We learned about the appropriate mourning attire and how long it had to be worn (three years, although ornamental items such as lace could be added in the second year.  Queen Victoria, however, wore mourning attire until her own death a full 40 years after the death of her husband, Prince Albert).  We also met with a post mortum photographer and embalmer. 

Afterwards, everyone received a piece of “funeral cake” in a container with an actual Victorian-era epitaph inscribed.  The one Jim received read like this:

“Emily Marie

She was not smart

She was not fair

But hearts with grief

For her are swellin’

As empty sits her little chair

She died of eating watermelon.”

This gentleman opened the gate as we approached the home of the recently deceased Mrs. Bell.

Marietta, Ohio

When we got to Marietta, the golden rod was is full bloom; now the purple asters are flowering.  The pretty red maple on Highway 7 has lost most of its leaves.  We’ve been here so long I’m thinking we should register to vote. But I like the Marietta, Ohio/Parkersburg, West Virginia area and would actually stay a few more days.  Jim is getting antsy, however, plus we have to get back to Lancaster, Ohio to figure out what is going on with a “nice to have” RV part a repair shop ordered for us.  It was supposed to arrive in five days, then the shop said within 14 days. Today is day 16 and it’s still not here.  So it’s time for a face-to-face with the shop owner.  Not looking forward to that. 

But first, a bit about Marietta, which is at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingham Rivers, and full of monuments, grand-looking Victorian-era and earlier homes, and historical markers.  Established in 1788, Marietta  was the first permanent settlement of the “The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio,” more commonly known as the Northwest Territory.  The NW Territory became the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and the northeast part of Minnesota.  

Below are photos of a few places we visited.

Bev walks up the steps to a mound built by prehistoric mound builders called the Adena at the Mound Cemetery.  The cemetery is also the final resting place of more Revolutionary War officers than any other single location. 

“Start Westward of the United States” is the name of this memorial, which commemorates the 42 pioneers who first came to Marietta in 1788.  It was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, who also carved the presidents of Mt. Rushmore.

Bev at the Fort Harmer post office.  Fort Harmar was the first US military installation in the Northwest Territory.  The site was surveyed and recommended for use as a fort by future general and president George Washington. The fort has been taken over by the Muskingham River, but many historic buildings remain and we took a walking tour. 

This Harmar Village, Italianate-style 22-room mansion was built in 1859. 

Jim eating the Harmar Tavern’s specialty, a fried bologna sandwich. 

The Lafayette Hotel is in downtown Marietta near the confluence of the Muskingham and the Ohio Rivers.  It’s named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero (and major general under George Washington and Washington’s life-long friend) of the American Revolutionary War, who visited Marietta in 1825.

About 1,400 students attend Marietta College, which offers liberal arts degrees and was founded in 1835.  Tuition is $29,000 a year.

All the historic homes have made me interested in architecture; I’ve got to get a book.  This house, “The Castle,” was built in 1855 and its web site calls it “one of the best examples of Gothic Revival style architecture in Ohio.”  The Castle was offering a “Victorian Funeral Program” and at first Jim wasn’t interested -- but after spending our late evenings watching the HBO series “Six Feet Under” (about a family that runs a funeral home) on DVD for the past week, he thought maybe it would be OK.  I’ll post something later on what we learned about Victorian funeral traditions and the  “dismal trades."

Twenty-one locks along the Ohio River keep the water deep enough so barges and large boats can make the trip.  This lock is at Willow Island, Ohio, about ten miles east of Marietta.  A barge pushing several 100-foot long containers is entering the lock at the left.  Right above the barge and in the background is the Pleasants Power Plant (see post dated Monday, October 3, 2011) on the West Virginia side of the river.

Historical time capsule

Blennerhassett -- the West Virginia island and opulent home where Aaron Burr supposedly planned treason with island owner Harman Blennerhassett -- wasn’t open.  Jim said the Victorian-era funeral being presented at Marietta’s premier mansion, The Castle, was “too creepy.”    So we went to Henderson Hall, a 29-room Italianata style mansion in Williamstown, West Virginia.  A great third choice.

The home was built in 1836 by George Washington Henderson and his wife Elizabeth Tomlinson Henderson.  GW, as he was called, was named for the first US president, a Henderson family friend.

From the time it was built until 2007, seven generations of Hendersons lived in the home near the Ohio River.  The furniture, clothing, documents and everything else in the home belonged to the Hendersons, who over those generations were involved in West Virginia’s statehood, the oil and gas boom, the Civil War and more.   As our tour guide said, the Hendersons did not throw out anything -- not a document, diary, dish or chair. Fortunately, it was a big house.  Today it looks like a beautiful but worn, well-lived-in home.

Some of the things we saw included the the carriage that took GW and  Elizabeth on a honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls; a document signed by Patrick Henry; a 1801 wedding dress; and diary after diary outlining everything from the mundane (today we planted corn) to the historically significant (General Lafayette docked nearby).  The most touching was a brooch Elizabeth created of hair from four of her 12 children who all died the same year.  Can you imagine?  Three other children died before they turned one and another died at age 21.  The 21-year-old took ill with typhoid while decorating the house for Christmas in 1863; two wreaths he hung that holiday are still on display.  

One Henderson who lived there a long time was Rosalie Henderson; she was born in the home in 1883 and died there in 1966.  She never married, honoring her father’s request that she take care of him -- but the guide pointed out a photo of a “beau” on her bedside table.  She became the historian who started to organize her family’s belongings.  

The last Henderson relative to live there was Mike Rolston. The guide told us Rolston was born in in the house but moved to New York City where he was a successful graphic designer.  The house was willed to him in 1984, so he came back to West Virginia, did a structural restoration, and opened the home to the public the next year.  He was known for  extravagantly and meticulously decorating the house for the holidays, as his relatives had done for 150 years. Rolston died in 2007 and left the home to the Parkersburg Oil and Gas Museum, which has kept it open.

Henderson Hall was built in 1836; an addition was finished in 1859.  Although the Hendersons supported the Union during the Civil War, at one time Henderson Hall was a plantation of 2600 acres run by as many as 100 slaves. 

Our tour guide, Pat, took this photo of us.  In the background are photos of Elizabeth and GW.

Wet at Walmart

The “Wayne Ultra,” a 45-mile off-road bicycle race through the Wayne National Forest in southern Ohio, started and ended at our campground  -- meaning all the campers had to leave.  That led us to our first Walmart camping experience.

Lots of Walmarts across the country let campers stay over night, unless a local ordinance puts a kibosh on it.  I called the Marietta, Ohio Walmart; the manager told me there was a sign that said “no overnight parking” but that it was still OK.  

So we spent a weekend at Walmart, along with other motor home and tractor/trailer neighbors.    

Since it rained the entire weekend (and I haven’t read anything but  travel literature lately) it was a good time for me to start and finish  “Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant” by Anne Tyler.  Plus, we watched Ohio State get beat by Michigan State at the Marietta Brewing Company, had brunch at the historic Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, and did as much walking in the chilly rain as we could stand.  

 Our Walmart camping spot.  (our rig is the blue and white one).  Jim’s opinion:  convenient for a night or two if you are passing through or waiting for a nearby campsite.   My opinion:  Quieter than I thought it would be, plus we stocked up on supplies, so Walmart got a generous camping fee.

Sunset view from Walmart of the bridge from Marietta, Ohio to Williamstown, West Virginia.  Photo credit goes to Jim.

Willow Island disaster

The two towers you see in the photo immediately below are cooling towers at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia, about 15 miles from where we are camping and 10 miles east of Parkersburg, WV.  Jim took the photo through the sun roof of our Honda as we drove by.  The fact that Jim pointed his camera toward the sky and the towers dominated the view gives you an idea of how big the towers are.  

A fellow camper at Leith Run Recreation Area told us they were nuclear coolers -- and the towers do resemble what I normally think of as parts of a nuclear power plant.  But I did some research and these coolers at a coal-powered electric plant, not a nuclear one.  In fact, there are no nuclear power plants in West Virginia. 

That research lead me to something else -- the Pleasants Power Station is the site of the worst construction accident in US history.  In April 1978, one of the towers had reached 166 feet in height when concrete poured the previous day started to collapse.  A jumble of concrete, wooden forms, and metal scaffolding fell into the hollow center of the tower.  Fifty-one men were working on the scaffolding and all fell to their deaths.