KNIGHTS OF ST GEORGE Wellsburg's Monte Carlo

Wellsburg’s Monte Carlo Now Is a Quiet Refuge..... reprint from 1965 Steubenville Herald Star.

They called it the Monte Carlo of the Ohio Valley and to the residents of the quiet hamlet of Wellsburg in those years of the early 1900’s, it was indeed a place of fabulous splendor.

Today, if he were alive, fun-loving, millionaire playboy J.B. VANDERGRIFT might be chagrined to see that the palatial country playground which he planned so carefully and which reputedly cost him a cool million dollars, has changed considerably.

On a high hill overlooking Wellsburg and commanding a splendid view of the Ohio River, the former vast estate of this Pittsburgh bon vivant now is a rest home operated by the Knights of St. George.

Gone are the nightly revels - the gambling, horse races and fox hunts which in those almost forgotten days, shocked the staid residents of Wellsburg. In its place is the soft chanting of priests and the murmur of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus who look after the elderly residents of the home.

But the legend persists and it has everything a legend out to have - love, tragedy and mystery.

Just why J.B. VANDERGRIFT , scion of a wealthy Western Pennsylvania steel family, selected Wellsburg for the site of his elaborate country hideaway, remains to this day a mystery. For the few short years he inhabited his English manor style mansion, he remained a mystery to most Wellsburgers, who listened in awe to the tales of gambling, dancing, drinking, and great balls that went on at the estate.

There was just one gay event after another, according to old-timers in Wellsburg. Parties which lasted for days at a time with debutantes, socialites and showgirls as guests; horse-races on the figure eight track- the only one of its kind in the country at that time - with big money bet on the outcome; cock fights in a large indoor arenas, fox hunts over the 500 acre grounds, swimming parties where gaiety sometimes reigned in the near-nude; gorgeous balls with much-bejeweled women.

The few Wellsburgers who were admitted to the guest house came back with stories of fabulous rooms decorated along varied national themes - the Chinese, Turkish, Indian and President rooms - each decorated authentic furnishings and works of art from each particular country.

Most gorgeous was the Chinese room, showplace of the estate. A complete panorama of Chinese art is presented in the circular room. An artist from China spent a year carving the oriental designs in the teakwood ceiling and illustrating different types of Chinese art - weaving, bamboo work, painting and carving - on the paneled walls. Antique Chinese furniture decorated the room and a Chinese rug - itself worth several thousand dollars, covers the floor.

It was this room of Oriental spendor and pillowed divans that fancy ladies and men drew on long tubes which brought soothing smoke from an opium “pipe” in the center of the room.

The grim visages of Indian chiefs line the walls of the Indian Room. Tomahawks, teepees, bows, arrows, flints, moccasins, feathered head-dresses and other Indian relics which adorn the room indicate that Vandergrift has a deep interest in Indian culture.

For the amusement of himself and his sophisticated friends. Vandergrift had built, in addition to the race track and cock pit a billiard room, bowling alley, tennis court, indoor swimming pool and lavish gardens in which no season passed that there wasn’t something in bloom to please his esthetic tastes.

A great lover of show horses and dogs, Vandergrift devoted much time and money to this hobby. A large staff of grooms and trainers, all dressed in expensive livery, took exquisite care of the valuable animals. Each of his horses - some valued as high as $25,000 - had a separate stall and individual groom and trainer. Rows of dog kennels dotted the hillside.

Among the 20 outer buildings, each connected with a private telephone system, was a dairy barn for 150 cattle. Interiors were porcelain-lined and equipped with all conveniences.

The house itself was built of dark red brick in the English country manor style of the early 1800’s. It is like a rectangle with the center cut out - the center in Vandergrift’s day being an open-air tennis court. The tennis court has long since been replaced by a garden. The front entrances of the house opened to a reception room with a mountain lodge atmosphere of open fireplace, mounted elk’s head and stuffed animals. The high vaulted ceilings of the larger rooms are beamed with heavy, expensive wood. Most of the walls are richly paneled in both wood and silk.

It was the show-place of the Ohio Valley and people flocked from miles around toget a glimpse of it and the brilliant people who inhabited it.

But as suddenly and mysteriously as it all began - it ended...The parties became less numerous, the revelry died away and the baying of the hounds was no longer heard.

Tragedy struck in the form of a series of disastrous fires which destroyed the huge, white circular barn and killed many of the prize horses. Finally the great house was closed.

Rumors were rampant and stories of a love triangle filtered out. They said the millionaire, his wife and an employee were involved. They said the fires were started deliberately to trap the lovers. But from the big house there was nothing but silence.

Vandergrift moved to New York where he died years later on Long Island. A close acquaintance says he left Wellsburg because he felt it was a “bad luck” place for him considering his recent misfortunes there. Whether he meant the series of fires, the rumor involving his attractive socialite wife or the death of one of his sons, remains unknown.

A movie producer named BRINKER leased the building for a few months to make a silent film and for a time, rushing stagecoaches, cowboys and Indians could be seen racing around the estate. But the climate and scenery proved unsuitable for westerns and Brinker moved to the fast-growing community of Hollywood. All that remains of him in Wellsburg is the road leading to the estate which still is called “Brinker Road”.

For years thereafter the place was vacant and many valuable objects were stolen from the mansion. Then in 1922, the Knights of St. George acquired the estate. Remodeling , equipment and a new $100,000 addition was necessary before the former playhouse became the home for the organization’s aged members. The home operates the farm raising vegetables and fruits, breeding chickens and operating a dairy.

A beautifully decorated chapel stands where the swimming pool once was. The octagonal structure which, its walls formerly decorated with nudes by famous artists, served as the arenas for cock fights, now is a retreat house where men gather for long periods of prayer. The ball room has been converted into a television room. The banquet hall is a library where games of pinochle, 500, checkers and dominoes take the place of dice and roulette wheels. The billiard room is the same but the players today make no $1,000 bets as did Vandergrift’s guests. Where the race-track once was, rows of white stone marks the place as the rest home cemetery.

A staff of nuns of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Father Frederick, the chaplain, administer the home.

The beautifully landscaped hilltop that overlooks Wellsburg and the Ohio River is a favorite Sunday afternoon relaxation spot for hundreds of people who like to visit the scenic estate. (Please note: this area has been closed for several years now.-- Brinker Road is located on Pleasant Avenue between 21st and 22nd Street)