The end of day 1 on our history mystery tour

Once again it’s time to board the coach for our short journey through Williamstown WV then on to Marietta, OH. It’s my hope that the hotel has already assigned my groups rooms and that they have their keys waiting. Upon arrival our driver pulls into the unloading zone, my assistant heads straight to the registration desk and thankfully the hotel has honored my request. By the time that our luggage is unloaded I distributed all of the keys and the group has a couple hours of free time to settle in before tonight’s functions.

We’re staying at one of the last riverboat-era hotels, the Lafayette which opened on July 1, 1918, and was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited the city in 1825. With its distinctive triangular shape, the hotel offers guest rooms with views of either the Ohio or Muskingum Rivers, whose legendary flooding a half-century ago is indicated on plaques placed on the exterior of the building at the intersection of First and Pine Street.

The dining room features a fine collection of long rifles, including one made by J. J. Henry that accompanied the Benedict Arnold expedition to Quebec in 1775. An 11-foot pilot wheel from the steamboat J. D. Ayres is featured the lobby. For some great views of the river have lunch or dinner in the quaint relaxed atmosphere of the Riverview Lounge. For more information on the Lafayette's rich history, click here.

We reassemble in the lobby ready for dinner at the Betsey Mills Club followed with a “history alive” show. The club was founded in 1911 under the name The Girls’ Monday Club. The Monday Club was the result of a sewing class started in 1898 in Marietta by Mrs. Betsey Mills and other community minded women. The first permanent home of the Monday Club was the white frame house on the corner of Fourth and Putnam Streets.

The home was donated by Mr. and Mrs. William Mills in 1916. The home became the nucleus of the present complex constructed by Mr. Mills as a memorial to his wife. The Betsey Mills as you see it today was dedicated on June 13, 1927 and donated by Mr. Mills to the community of Marietta.

After supper history is brought to life by Ms. Patty Cooper as she portrays frontier scout “Mad” Anne Bailey, 1742?-1825. In the late 1700s Anne Bailey served in the Great Kanawha Valley as a buckskin-clad frontierswoman who could handle a horse, hatchet, and long rifle as well as any man. When her husband was killed in the battle of Point Pleasant in 1774 she was compelled to avenge his death and embarked on a new life as border scout and messenger. The 1861 poem “Anne Bailey’s Ride” commemorates her heroic 1791 ride alone through over 100 miles of mostly wilderness when Fort Lee (Charleston) was threatened with attack to Fort Savannah (Lewisburg) and her return with desperately needed gunpowder.

Having put in a full day packed for fun, travel and learning we head back to the Lafayette and the class is dismissed. A few hearty souls head out for the nightlife of Marietta but most retire to their rooms to reflect on today’s activities and recharge for tomorrow.

We still have day 2 of our history mystery trip so check back soon.