The Marble and Other Ghost Tales of Tennessee and Virginia

     Built in 1889 of hand-made brick, this house is a Victorian shingle-style home which looks very northern. Its builder, Major Joseph Wagner, served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He had mercantile and mining interests in the post-war era.
     The Rambo family bought the house in 1910 and updated it with electricity, plumbing and central heat on the first floor. In August 1991, the third generation of Rambo's sold it to the Cornetts (grand son of A.B. Carter, the first to record country music), who in turn sold it to Robert and Judy Hotchkiss of Atlanta. The Robert and Judy bought the house because its commanding presence on a hill makes it look like it should be a B&B.
    Judy and Robert Hotchkiss have been renovators since one day in 1972 when they repainted door trim in an old house they rented in the Seattle area. Since then they have revived a series of turn-of-the-century homes in the Atlanta area, but nothing as daunting as a 6,000 square-foot shingle style Victorian located in a small town in rural Northeast Tennessee.
     Robert holds a physics degree from Georgia Tech and a law degree from Emory University. He also trained in nuclear submarines. Judy holds a journalism degree and is an avid student of renovation and gardening.
     After another massive updating and renovation to the house after Robert & Judy purchased it, the building was ready to become Prospect Hill B&B Inn, named for Major Wagner's mining interests in the area.
     Five bedrooms and a two-room family parlor were turned into five guest bedrooms with modern baths. The somewhat finished attic was converted to private space for the owners.
     All systems such as plumbing and electrical are new. Central heat and air conditioning was installed on the second and third floors for the first time. Eventually, all the hardwood floors will be lightly sanded and re-varnished. All the moldings in the public rooms were stripped of six coats of paint. Five guest rooms are now available for your visit.

How's the weather?

Unique Features, Climate Inside and Out
     Each room has something different: a private balcony (Room 5), private entrance (Room 1), whirlpool tub for two (Rooms 1, 2, and 4), use of the upstairs porch which is lighted by twinkle lights at night, stained glass, bathroom wallpaper, fireplaces in the room and/or bath, and one-of-a-kind decorating. Your room may have a high ceiling, a low ceiling, or a vaulted ceiling. Each room has a piece of original art created by Judy's artist friends in Atlanta.
     Rooms have individual climate control and soundproofing. All rooms have ceiling fans, reading lights, clock radios (many with CD players), phones, door locks, in-room cable TV, bathrobes for your use and scented candles. Bubble bath is provided for the whirlpool tubs. Breakfast is included with all rooms, unless otherwise indicated.
     All rooms are upstairs with the exception of Romance Room (Room 1). We have a new dumb waiter which will carry your luggage upstairs and down for you. Be sure to give The Dummy a try while here!

Our Pets

Tiger Lily & Big Head sleeping
     We were dog people for a long time. Right now we do not have a dog! But we do have two cats — one indoors in our quarters and one outdoors/party room.
     If you are a true cat person the indoor cat, Tiger Lily, will find you and love on you. If you like your cats like dogs, Big Head lives in the party room and office only where he will find you and sit on your lap. He comes to Here kitty, kitty. Both cats will leave you alone when you say the word by swinging your foot. Our rooms are very clean. However, IF you prefer, ask us to do a last "minute" extra vacuuming and addition of an air filter machine "just in case." The machine also makes a great white noise machine as needed.

 

Judy's Photography Published in a Non-fiction Book NONFICTION Inman Park. By Christine V. Marr and Sharon Foster Jones. Review by Catherine Fox, Atlanta Journal-Constitution The neighborhood has suffered its share of travails. Dark years followed its heyday, 1890 to 1910, when wealthy residents decamped for Druid Hills and later left Atlanta altogether. And the area endured three Battles of Atlanta: Built on the ruins of Civil War plantations, it narrowly avoided being plowed under for a 12-lane expressway in the early ’60s, and its residents spent the ’80s fighting Freedom Parkway.....Christine V. Marr and Sharon Foster Jones chronicle its up and downs in “Inman Park” (Arcadia Publishing, $19.99. 126 pages), a book that features more than 200 intelligently annotated vintage photos as well as an informative essay and chapter introductions that provide context. The book belongs to the South Carolina publisher’s national series “Images of America,” which includes profiles of a number of metro Atlanta towns and neighborhoods, including College Park, Marietta and Druid Hills.  And now Inman Park. With some photos (c.1978-1995) by Judy Hotchkiss, a 19 year resident and now from Mountain City, TN  Available from www.barnesandnoble.com