Meet The Inn Keepers and Charolotte

Liz & Gary

I'm Liz, and this is my Mister, Gary. We met in 2005. We married in 2007 in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We lived in a tiny town called Rural Hall, NC. In 2012 while vacationing in Pennsylvania Gary suffered a massive stroke. After three surgery's, months and months of recovery and rehab we made the decision to head north to my hometown. I needed rest; I needed to lighten my life load. Gary needed all my attention, not our property. We sold two properties and piled everything we had into storage units and took refuge in our tiny 750 square foot lake house. The plan, take a year to figure out where we wanted to be, stay close and help each other heal physically and emotionally. That planned stretched into two years.

In January of 2016, we decided it was time to put the lake house on the market. It sold quickly, and we found the farmhouse within a week. I didn't like the idea of all the house had to offer in size, but she fit Gary's needs perfectly.

She had a rough past, lots of owners and renters. The owners before us took the time and fixed her up. She needed all kinds of love. Look at these photos I found from a previous listing. She had been foreclosed on more than once and left to rot. I heard that the fire department considered burning her down at some point. The inside was a disaster. The renovations made were stunning. At 116 years old, she was like a new again. And boy was she a house!!! 4 bedrooms, three full baths, and about 2,500 square feet. The entire first floor was all we needed. Completely handicap accessible, and plenty for me to manage. Let me tell you a house that fit Gary's needs is hard to find, and not having to put a dime into renovations is even more unusual. It seemed our decision on where to go had been figured out.

Once our belongings from North Carolina arrived, the house quickly took shape, and I realized that renting rooms would be an amazing opportunity for us, and I was right. I listed the first room in mid-June, and she had her first guests by the end of the month. I listed the second room in July, and it had guests right away.

The business name we decided on was The 53 Farmhouse. But this grand ole' gal needed something more personal. I decided on Charlotte. It's a soothing name with a beautiful ring. Everyone is in love with her all over again. I think there have probably been hundreds of people inside her over the past 116 years. And I'm hoping to keep the past and present here going strong.

"Welcome to The 53 Farmhouse. My name is Charlotte."