Historic Dasher House—urban oasis near downtown

Old house fans will love Dasher House! Built in 1913 on top of a hill close to downtown & the historic district, its site on 13th Street hill means you enjoy panoramic views. There’s a brand new HVAC system and large capacity on demand hot water heater, enabling every guest to shower without running out of hot water. There’s a 5 burner gas grill on the patio in the summer so you can enjoy cooking & dining outdoors—tell us if you want to use it before you arrive so we can make sure it’s ready! Dasher House is located in an old area of town on a large lot with many homes of a similar age. We live right next door. Dasher House is 4 blocks up the hill from the well-known Juliana Square Historic district. There is off street parking on the property for two cars, and free on street parking for many more. its winter so the garden at the Dasher House garden is sleeping. Our garden next door is too, but I will gladly give you a tour of it if you let me know ahead so I can fit it in my schedule. I love daylilies and currently have nearly 90 different cultivars growing on the two properties, but as a former master gardener I grow a little bit of lots of different ornamental flowers and shrubs. Dasher House is large—over 2300 sq ft—and can sleep many people, but please note there is only one bathroom and a half bathroom of sorts in the basement. Dasher House is currently set up to accommodate 3 couples on the second floor. There is also a queen size sofa bed in the living room that could be used for another couple, if necessary. We have twin size air beds we can bring out if you have children. The main issue with a large number of guests is that there is only one full bathroom and a half bath of sorts—the kind known as a “Pittsburgh potty”—in the basement. We have it fully curtained off for privacy and there is also a utility sink near it for hand washing. Another thing to note: the dining room is set up to seat 8 people normally. If you need more seating, the island in the kitchen seats two people. There is also a drop leaf table in the dining room that will seat 4 people and chairs for it are stored on the property. Let us know if you’ll need the extra seating capacity. There is a five burner gas grill which we can make available to you in the summer if you let us know ahead of your stay that you want to use it. It’s sometimes in storage so we may have to get it out. Certainly we will need to make sure it’s clean, and make sure there is propane, ahead of your stay so do let us know if you might want to use it. We have seating for 8 people to dine outside. In addition, there is a glider, two rockers, and a bench for seating on the patio. There is a ring video doorbell near the back door to the porch. it is always on, and motion activated to record video and sound. The home has high speed internet and Wi-Fi with a good signal throughout the house. There is plenty to do in the area. * Take a Sternwheeler ride down the Ohio and visit Blennerhassett Island and mansion. * Tour the unique and intriguing historic Henderson Hall plantation. * Take a ride on the Valley Gem Sternwheeler and cruise rivers once navigated by George Washington while the Captain narrates on the founding of Marietta and other local history. * Check out the oldest Five and Dime store still operating in the United States—Berdine’s Five and Dime in Harrisville, WV. * Take a self guided, free walking tour of the Juliana Square Historic District and enjoy the sight of the many elaborate, historic mansions and buildings which comprise West Virginia’s largest historic district. Guests have access to the majority of the house, including the basement, with the following exceptions: the entire third floor, the second floor linen closet, and the second floor sunroom. Because of the AirBnB COVID cleaning protocol, we have closed off these areas to guests. The outdoor space--patio and garden--are for guests (although our lawn and garden people may be by to maintain them while you are there). Guests do NOT have access to either garage on the property. The house is set up for self-check in, however, there is paperwork that needs to be signed upon check-in or before arrival, and I must check the IDs of all adult guests. Also, because of the age of the house, and your possible unfamiliarity with homes of this era, we prefer to give you a short orientation tour soon after your arrival so we can acquaint you with a few of the unusual features of the home. After that, we'll give you your space but will be right next door if you need us! Our neighborhood was developed primarily circa 1900 to 1920, although there are a few houses that predate that period, and a few that are newer. Most of the homes in the neighborhood were built during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The neighborhood directly behind us, Camden Place, is a lovely quiet neighborhood and a great place to view our sunsets. Unfortunately, while the immediate neighborhood behind Dasher House is fine, Camden Place borders on one of the rundown areas of Parkersburg. Moreover, 13th Street, which Dasher House faces, is a fairly busy street with a lot of pedestrian traffic. If you are not used to urban settings, you may find this unsettling but it has not caused any issues for our guests to date. You have off street parking for two cars next to the brick garage in back of the house. NEVER block the driveway, even long enough to unload your car, because you will be blocking us in. If you wish to use our public transit system, which is somewhat limited, the bus stops one block down the hill from Dasher House at the corner of St. Mary's Avenue and 13th Street. The bus terminal, where you can change buses, if you need to, is less than a mile from there. Uber, Lyft, and regular taxi services are available in our area. There is a ring video doorbell near the door to the back porch. It is always on, but is motion activated. You may not turn it off, cover it up, cut off the Wi-Fi signal to it, or tamper with it in any way. It records video with sound. Because of age of the house, some of the original, irreplaceable features of the house, some of the furniture, and the multitude of stairs, Dasher House may not the best choice for families with children from crawling age to age six or so. Many families with small children have stayed at Dasher House and enjoyed their stay but, we would prefer, if you have children in this crawling to kindergarten age, that you discuss with us before booking so we can ensure your family is a good fit for the house and will be comfortable staying there. Here are just a few things to consider: * Some irreplaceable items, like the original 1913 glass light fixtures in the second floor bedrooms, are reachable by children who are standing on the beds. * The large screen TV is placed on a low stand and is not secured to the wall (there is no way to do it). * None of the tall furniture (china cabinet, chests of drawers) is secured to the wall. *There are a few sharp edged end tables, and several end tables with glass or mirrored tops; some of these could easily be tipped over by a toddler pulling themselves up. * All the window blinds throughout the house have cords. Chasing after little ones might not make for the most relaxing stay. We do our best by providing safety gates for the stairs, locks for some doors, etc., but it isn't possible to completely childproof this home. If you have children in this age range, please discuss with us before booking, so we can make sure you'll be happy staying here and your children will be safe. We provide some items for guests with small children. We have a baby monitor, a high chair, a potty chair, a sink step stool, a diaper genie, and a few toys, games, and books. We have safety gates we can install on the stairs. We can provide cabinet locks and safety caps for the electrical outlets, but you’ll need to put them in place yourself, if you wish to use them. We don’t have a pack n’ play or crib. We do, however, have crib linens. We don't allow animals because of possible damage to the floors, woodwork, carpets and furniture. We do sometimes make exceptions in some very rare instances. There are rules concerning animals if we allow them—a primary one being that the animal can not be left alone in the house. If it is absolutely, unavoidably necessary to leave it alone at the house, it must be crated & kept in the basement, and can not be left there for more than 4 hours maximum. There are some great doggie daycare facilities in the area I can recommend. There will be a pet fee charged. The fee will be determined by the number and type of pets. We live next door and have a medium to large rescue dog, and he does not get along with other animals. He's also hand shy (we think he was abused) so if you see us out with him, please don't reach out to pet him until we give you the OK. If you are afraid of dogs, let us know and we will keep him out of your way. He is never let loose--he is always on a leash. You probably won’t even set eyes on him unless you see us out walking him.