Oglebay Park
| Oglebay Park | |
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The Oglebay Institute Mansion Museum.
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| Type | Municipal park |
| Created | July 1928 |
| Operated by | Wheeling Park Commission |
| Visitors | information unavailable |
| Status | Open all year |
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Oglebay Mansion Museum
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| Location | Oglebay Park, Wheeling, West Virginia |
| Coordinates | 40°6′7″N 80°40′8″W / 40.10194°N 80.66889°WCoordinates: 40°6′7″N 80°40′8″W / 40.10194°N 80.66889°W |
| Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
| Built | 1846 |
| Architect | Hanson Chapline, renovations by Edward B. Franzheim and the Klieves, Kraft and Company |
| NRHP Reference # | 79002595 |
| Added to NRHP | August 29, 1979 |
Oglebay Park is a self-supporting public municipal park, the only one of its kind, located on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia on 1,650 acres (670 ha). In 1926, Earl W. Oglebay (of Oglebay, Norton, and Company) deeded his estate, Waddington Farms, to the city of Wheeling for the express purpose of public recreation. The park has been open to the public since 1928 when its governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations
Several Waddington Farms buildings, including the Mansion Museum and the greenhouse, remain in use today. Others, such as the Carriage House, have been rebuilt in the style of the original structures. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the Oglebay Mansion is operated as a museum by the Oglebay Institute.
The park currently incorporates two championship golf courses, two standard courses (9-hole and 18-hole), one par three course, eleven tennis courts, a large outdoor pool, extensive walking trails, the Good Zoo, The Mansion Museum (operated by the Oglebay Institute), gardens, a greenhouse, the Anne Kuchinka Amphitheater, the Wilson Lodge (containing over 271 rooms), 54 cottages, The Schrader Center (a nature center operated by the Oglebay Institute), a planetarium (located within the Good Zoo), a ski slope, Camp Russel, and Schenk Lake, which is used for fishing, pedal boating, Segway tours, and several nightly fountain shows in season.
Annual events at the park include, but are not limited to: The Winter Festival of Lights, Oglebayfest, the Ohio County Fair, the West Virginia Open (tennis), Springfest, and Fort Henry Days (a living history weekend).
The Oglebay Mansion was built in 1846 by Hanson Chapline as an eight-room farmhouse. Earl W. Oglebay, co-founder of the Oglebay-Norton Company, purchased the mansion and its 25 acres (10 ha) adjoining in 1900, renamed it Waddington Farm, and used it as his summer estate and model farm. He was the ninth owner of the home and its adjoining land, and expanded the farmhouse into a mansion by adding additional wings and architectural features like the front portico. He gradually expanded the estate by purchasing adjacent farms until Waddington Farm had grown from 25 acres (10 ha) to 750 acres (300 ha) at the time of his death in 1926. The mansion became a museum in 1930. The museum, which includes restored rooms, local history exhibits, and exhibits on Earl W. Oglebay and his former estate, is operated by the Oglebay Institute and is open to the public for tours and programs throughout the year
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