Zionville
Zionville, NC · Lifestyle
Bertie Ledger-Advance
‘Every little detail tells a story’: Todd Hotel restoration honors family legacy
TODD — The Todd Hotel has been in John Baker’s family for seven generations, and he is now restoring it to its former glory. The property and hotel — an 1840s Appalachian farmhouse, built in the Greek Revival style and renovated in Victorian style — has been in the family since before the railroad came to Todd. The hotel’s first known mention in print came in 1885, when the Watauga Democrat called it a boarding house, Baker said. In 1909, his great-great-great-grandfather, Felix McGuire, purchased the hotel and farm. Baker said he believes his family bought it expecting prosperity would follow the railroad to the area. Felix’s son, T.A. McGuire, and T.A.’s wife, Mae McGuire, took over in 1912 — adding more guest rooms and renovating the hotel in the ornate Victorian style that survives today. “What was more of a simple farmhouse, they expanded into a really grand hotel — in a very optimistic way,” Baker said. “It’s really kind of based on things they saw — styles from New York — to make a really grand impression on visitors that would be coming from all over the world.” At its peak from the 1910s through the 1930s, the
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Nothing Beats The Scenic Drive To This Out-Of-The-Way Mountain Cafe In North Carolina
The best meals have a way of earning themselves, and the drive to Switzerland Cafe in Marion, North Carolina is the kind of approach that makes the food taste even better when you finally sit down. It’s a remote mountain cafe that serves smoked trout so good it should probably...
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Cozy mountain house in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
Wood plank ceilings, a stacked stone fireplace, and playful plaid wallpaper fill this Banner Elk getaway. Aguilar Design Studio has designed, built, and furnished this cozy mountain house for a retired healthcare executive and his wife in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Tucked into the woods of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the house was built as a vacation home where family and friends can get together. It is also a year-round home for the couple’s son.