Cedar Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast

CEDAR GROVE PLANTATION
Nominated to National List As It Prepares To Sell
Story and photos by Gordon and Penny Fikes

UPDATE: This story was published in the Natchez Democrat December 14, 2005 !

Above: Cedar Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast was built around 1830 by Absalom Sharp, the great-great uncle of the present owner, Donnie Grey of Pennsylvania. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Cedar Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast has been nominated as one of the Top Ten Most Romantic Bed & Breakfasts in the country by American Historic Inns, Inc., a leading publisher of guidebooks of country inn and bed & breakfasts.

The nomination is a fitting note for Cedar Grove as it changes ownership.

After ten years of operation, the owner of Cedar Grove in the Kingston Community has decided to sell the property and land that was once owned by his great-great uncle Absalom Sharp.

"The nicest thing about having a bed and breakfast is talking to educated people from all over the world," the 74 year old Donnie Grey of Burgettestown, PA. said. "I'll never see some of these interesting people again, but it has shown me that there are a lot of very good people in this world".

"Natchez is equal to a big city in its services," Grey said. "but Natchez has the history and the beautiful people a big city does not have. I've had many nice times in Natchez, and I will be coming back (after Cedar Grove sells)."

Grey had bought the 150 acres and historic house and turned it into a bed and breakfast back in 1995 as a tribute to his daughter, Valerie Grey, who was killed in the infamous industrial explosion at the Angus Plant in Sterlington, LA, in 1991.

At age 74, Grey said he needed to streamline his businesses and be able to concentrate more on enjoying his grandchildren. Grey recently brought a tractor trailer load of school supplies collected from the Burgettestown, PA, area to the Thames Elementary School in Hattiesburg to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery.

Manager Kay Caraway said at least two serious buyers were planning to visit Cedar Grove in the next few weeks. Each of these potential buyers had expressed interest in continuing the property as an inn. Nomination for Top Ten Most Romantic Bed & Breakfast Caraway said Cedar Grove was notified recently that the Inn had been nominated as one of the Top Ten Most Romantic Inns in the country by American Historic Inns, Inc. out of Dana Point, California. "The selection process involves an intensive series of staff meetings in which consideration is given to travel writers who have been polled, the sense of hospitality, interviews by phone with the properties, and many other factors," Deborah Sakach, president of American Historic Inns, said.	For only a few more weeks, manager Kay Caraway will ring the plantation bell at Cedar Grove to call the guests to breakfast. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Manager Kay Caraway said at least two serious buyers were planning to visit Cedar Grove in the next few weeks. Each of these potential buyers had expressed interest in continuing the property as an inn.

Nomination for Top Ten Most Romantic Bed & Breakfast

Caraway said Cedar Grove was notified recently that the Inn had been nominated as one of the Top Ten Most Romantic Inns in the country by American Historic Inns, Inc. out of Dana Point, California.

"The selection process involves an intensive series of staff meetings in which consideration is given to travel writers who have been polled, the sense of hospitality, interviews by phone with the properties, and many other factors," Deborah Sakach, president of American Historic Inns, said.

For only a few more weeks, manager Kay Caraway
will ring the plantation bell at Cedar Grove to call the
guests to breakfast. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Sakach said the "Top Ten" list has been compiled yearly for the past dozen years. Monmouth of Natchez and Fairview Inn in Jackson made the Top Ten list in 2004 and 2000 respectively.

Cedar Grove was one of 70 nominated properties from a pool of over 19,000 historic inns and bed and breakfasts across the country, Sakach said. The final top ten inns would be announced by mid-January, she said.

"It's an honor to be nominated," Caraway said. "I have been interviewed by American Historic Inns, and I hope Cedar Grove is one of the Top Ten. If not, we are still proud to have been one of the 70 in the country!"

American Historic Inns, Inc., has sold over 2.5 million bed and breakfast guidebooks since 1981. The company also produces a company website, www.iloveinns.com.

History of Cedar Grove

In a town that has stubbornly protected its beauty and uniqueness since its charter in 1784, the story of Cedar Grove Plantation mirrors the story of Natchez as a stage for outstanding people to accomplish unexpected achievements.

The home was built in the early 1830's by Absalom Sharp of New Jersey for his bride Clarissa Thomas. Grey, Cedar Grove's current owner, is a descendant of Clarissa Thomas' family.

Clarissa's sister married Alexander Boyd and moved into Magnolia Hill in the Kingston Community. A third sister married a Sojurner. They built Oakwood Plantation, also in the Kingston area. Oakwood is a bed and breakfast and Magnolia Hill is a private residence. Sharp was among the earliest white settlers to move into Adams County, Mississippi, region. It was known then as Ogden's Mandamus Grant after Captain Amos	The Absalom Room was named after the first owner of Cedar Grove Plantation, Absalom Sharp. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Clarissa's sister married Alexander Boyd and moved into Magnolia Hill in the Kingston Community.

A third sister married a Sojurner. They built Oakwood Plantation, also in the Kingston area. Oakwood is a bed and breakfast and Magnolia Hill is a private residence.

Sharp was among the earliest white settlers to move into Adams County, Mississippi, region. It was known then as Ogden's Mandamus Grant after Captain Amos

The Absalom Room was named after the first owner of Cedar Grove Plantation, Absalom Sharp. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Ogden who had a land grant from the Crown of England in 1768.

The Kingston settlement, an uncorportated collection of about 3000 residents, is about 10 miles southeast of Natchez. It is one of the first white settlements in Mississippi. Most of the original Kingston settlement is in Adams County, and Kingston can be considered a suburb of Natchez.

In 1772, two New Jersey brothers, Samuel and Richard Swayze, bought 19,000 acres of land on the Homochitto River, part of the Ogden Mandamus Grant. To this large tract of land, fifteen related families moved and built cabins close together. Even today you can find descendants of the family names of Swayze, Foule, Ashford, Byrd, Davis, Farrar, Vaughn, Thomas, and Sojourner.

Dunbar Roland, a respected Natchez historian and the first director of the Mississippi State Department of Archives and History, wrote in his 1925 history book, Mississippi: The Heart of the South, about the charter of Natchez a decade after the New Jersey families settled Kingston.

Not able to compete with Natchez for settlers, Kingston never progressed beyond the stage of pioneer town or settlement. Natchez became the first Territorial Capital of Mississippi and was the seat of government during the Spanish ownership of the region.

Today Kingston has a volunteer fire department which earlier this year received almost $10,000 in federal grant money for Homeland Security. The residents of Kingston, then and now, continue to play their part in the development of Mississippi.

For more than 170 years, Cedar Grove Plantation has watched this evolution of population from her regal pose among a grove of tall cedar trees.

	From a Manager's Perspective: Caraway became a part of Cedar Grove's evolution when Grey bought the property and hired John Holyoak to manage the bed and breakfast. When Holyoak moved onto manage Dunleith and affiliated properties in Natchez. Layne Taylor, Louise Slane and then Caraway became manager at Cedar Grove. "I came to Cedar Grove in 1996, and I have been a part of the story for 10 years," Caraway said. Famous visitors like Julia Roberts have stayed at Cedar Grove. George Clooney is another famous person to sleep under the historic roof. Carol Weir, a nationally known swimsuit designer from California, was so moved by her visit to Cedar Grove, she purchased Saragoosa south of Natchez, one of the oldest plantations in the Natchez area, built by the Spaniards", Caraway said.

From a Manager's Perspective:

Caraway became a part of Cedar Grove's evolution when Grey bought the property and hired John Holyoak to manage the bed and breakfast. When Holyoak moved onto manage Dunleith and affiliated properties in Natchez. Layne Taylor, Louise Slane and then Caraway became manager at Cedar Grove.

"I came to Cedar Grove in 1996, and I have been a part of the story for 10 years," Caraway said.

Famous visitors like Julia Roberts have stayed at Cedar Grove. George Clooney is another famous person to sleep under the historic roof. Carol Weir, a nationally known swimsuit designer from California, was so moved by her visit to Cedar Grove, she purchased Saragoosa south of Natchez, one of the oldest plantations in the Natchez area, built by the Spaniards", Caraway said.

More recently, three professional chefs from New Orleans took refuge from Hurricane Katrina at Cedar Grove, which did not seem to intimidate Caraway who stocked coolers with ice and food as the storm drove refugees into Natchez.

“Thirty eight people packed into Cedar Grove for that challenging time. The kids stood on the back porch, watched the big limbs hit the ground and said 'Awesome'!”, Caraway said.

“The chefs brought in food also, and helped me prepare dinner during that week. For lunch we just made sandwiches. Everyone pitched in and helped with preparation. It was a fun week, even if it was also a trying week. Most of our guests did not have a home to return to,” Caraway said.

Transition: As 2005 draws to a close and Cedar Grove prepares to change ownership, Grey will continue to receive and read his copy of the Natchez Democrat and the four other newspapers he reads daily at his home in Pennsylvania. Caraway will move back to her home, just a few driveways down from Cedar Grove, and continue to help the new owners when needed. The majestic cedar trees from which Cedar Grove earns its name will continue to stand guard for the next owners drawn to Natchez by its enigmatic blend of history and innovative survival tactics. “It is like time standing still,” Caraway said. “No matter how things progress, when you walk into one of these historic homes, it is like stepping back in time. At the same time, the community has been progressive and continues to grow.”	Back Gallery of Cedar Grove Plantation. Photo by Gordon Fikes

Transition:

As 2005 draws to a close and Cedar Grove prepares to change ownership, Grey will continue to receive and read his copy of the Natchez Democrat and the four other newspapers he reads daily at his home in Pennsylvania.

Caraway will move back to her home, just a few driveways down from Cedar Grove, and continue to help the new owners when needed.

The majestic cedar trees from which Cedar Grove earns its name will continue to stand guard for the next owners drawn to Natchez by its enigmatic blend of history and innovative survival tactics.

“It is like time standing still,” Caraway said. “No matter how things progress, when you walk into one of these historic homes, it is like stepping back in time. At the same time, the community has been progressive and continues to grow.”

Back Gallery of Cedar Grove Plantation.
Photo by Gordon Fikes

Cedar Grove is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the estimated 1000 historic sites in the Natchez area. Contact Information: Kay Caraway, manager Cedar Grove Plantation Bed and Breakfast 617 Kingston Road Natchez, MS MS 39120 1-877-508-6800

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