Ohio Valley Yellow Pages Ohio Valley Businesses: The Eckhart House

The Eckhart House
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admin on 11 May, 2008 07:13:00
 
With most of its original architectural features well preserved, it is truly
deserving of the title Victorian Wheeling’s ‘Crown Jewel’.
The three story Queen Anne town home is nestled in the heart of Victorian Old
Town and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The home was constructed to demonstrate the importance of the family that built
it, which it did magnificently. Newspapers of the day stated that it was a home
of some significance. This compliment would have warmed the heart of any of the
wealthy and important of the city.
George Eckhart had now arrived into high society with the opening of his new
house on "Millionaire’s Row", in the heart of Old Town, which is today a
national Historic District.A brief introduction of Wheeling’s magnificent
history is helpful to appreciate the Eckhart House, for the city grew from a
small settlement of a few cabins during the Indian border wars of the
1770’s to one of the nation’s most powerful and wealthiest cities of
the 1890’s. The Eckhart House represents the pinnacle of Wheeling’s
progress.
Wheeling was discovered and settled by the Zane Brothers in 1769 via an
overland route from the junction of the Youghogheny and the Monongahela Rivers.
The settlement had a deep port on the Ohio River making transportation by boat
nearly always possible. This enabled the city to grow slowly but steadily.
The early 1800’s brought peace with the Indians as well as the building
of the first National Road. The road granted easy access to the west, and the
calling of free land brought Americans by the hundreds of thousands. Quickly, as
the nation expanded westward, Wheeling, its main supply route and gateway, grew
to become a great eighteenth century city.
Its citizens utilized unrivaled technology and built a suspension bridge of
magnificent proportions that opened on November 7, 1849. This structure opened
commerce and transportation with the west unlike anything before.
Three years later the first railroad to reach the Ohio was completed to
Wheeling. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad linked Wheeling to its Eastern sister
city, Baltimore, and reestablished these two cities as the preeminent western
gateway. 1861 saw the start of the Civil War and Wheeling was made the Capital
of Virginia.
By June 20, 1863 Wheeling was recognized as the capital of a new state, West
Virginia. The city grew and prospered dramatically for the next 25 years until
the capital was moved to a small central West Virginia City called Charleston
where it remains today. The city and state never recovered from this loss and
neither reached their full potential.
Even with its loss as capital, Wheeling grew well into the 20th Century. By the
1930’s the industry of the area began to disappear. The population of
nearly 70,000 dropped 7% by the 1970’s, and steadily declined to
approximately 30,000 today with the disappearance of most of its industries.
A silver lining exists to this seemingly sad story. Wheeling is a living
treasure of American history. Here is where the pipeline was open to the
settling of the west. Here is where the industrial revolution took place. Here
is where one can still see, in its near entirety, the Victorian Era. The
city’s decline was dramatic and painful, but it preserved the
nation’s history, as if it were a time capsule, and tells America’s
story better than any other city.
Original Architectural Features:
*Numerous mantles including 5 double carved mantles.	*Classic Queen Anne
stained glass windows.	*4 sets of pocket doors 10 feet high.	*Inlaid hardwood
floors.	*Original chandeliers and wall sconces.	*Lincrusta wainscoting	*Several
pieces of intricate ornamental fretwork.	*3 story open staircase with carved oak
balustrade.	*Hand painted floral motif on the parlor walls and ceiling.
Web Site: http://eckharthouse.com