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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Henderson Hall is a grand antebellum mansion overlooking the Ohio River near Williamstown, Wood County. It was the home of five generations of the Henderson family, who had earlier occupied a log house on the same property.
Henderson Hall was built in stages, beginning with the current rear wing in 1836. The much larger three-story front section was completed in 1859 by George Washington Henderson. The house is built of red brick in the Italianate architectural style, with a belvedere or observation room atop the roof and broad overhanging eaves. John M. Slocomb of nearby Marietta, Ohio, was the architect.
Alexander Henderson, the founder of the local branch of the family, entered regional history in 1807 when he exposed the plans of Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett for a possibly treasonous military expedition down the Mississippi watershed. Alexander’s son George Washington Henderson married Elizabeth Ann Tomlinson of the pioneering Tomlinson family, consolidating an estate of more than 2,000 acres. Their sons actively farmed the place through the first half of the 20th century. Henderson Hall was occupied by Henderson descendants continuously from the time it was built until 2007, when it was willed to the Oil and Gas Museum of nearby Parkersburg. The historic house is unusual in that it survives intact with most of its furnishings and decorations, including the original architectural drawings.
Henderson Hall is the anchor property for the Henderson Hall Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district also includes barns and outbuildings related to the main house, two associated smaller residences, other structures, and three Indian burial mounds.
Read the National Register nomination.
Chambers, S. Allen. Buildings of West Virginia. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004.
State Historic Preservation Office. Historic West Virginia: The National Register of Historic Places. West Virginia Division of Culture & History, 2000.