The Day That Changed Our Lives

Courtyard Before Restoration, 1989
Falcon Rest Courtyard before restoration 1989

Courtyard After Restoration, 1993
Falcon Rest Courtyard after restoration, 1993

Courtyard Today ... and still improving

From our guest book:

"The detail in restoration is amazing."
"Thanks for all the passion and love you put in it!"
"Outstanding. Thank you
for saving such a beautiful place."
For more on the restoration of Falcon Rest, see our National Register application online, written by the Victorian Lady. (You know we're do-it-yourselfers!)

   Did you ever have a day that completely changed the course of your life?
   The end of last month, the Victorian Lady and I celebrated the 18th anniversary of the one that changed ours. That's when I attended the auction of the old hospital building where my sister was born ... out of curiosity ... and ended up in the tourism business.
   We'd already restored two old houses, so when I showed up at my parents' home in McMinnville, Tenn., and told them I was looking for local investment property, Mother asked, "Did you know they're auctioning off the old hospital?" After all, it had been a magnificent Victorian mansion before being disguised as a medical facility in the 1940s, '50s and '60s.
     Dad said: "Don't tell him that. He might go buy it!"
     I was intrigued enough to go look, and what I saw wasn't encouraging. An aborted demolition of the hospital additions had left the back of the buildng looking like a bomb had hit it. Still, the mansion's original beauty shone through.
     Even more intrigued, I went to the auction. The hospital estate made the opening bid. I bid $50 more -- just so I wouldn't waste the trip -- and nobody else said a word.
     The next thing I heard was the auctioneer declaring, "Going once, going twice, SOLD to that sucker over there!" OK, maybe he didn't say "sucker," but given the magnitude of the restoration, he probably could have.
     We hired some folks to tear down the rest of the hospital additions and put on a new roof, but the long-suffering Victorian lady and I literally did 95% of the restoration ourselves. I spent a year of my life under the mansion doing wiring and plumbing. When I started, I was handsome, had a full head of dark hair, and my sanity.
Just look at me now!
     After 4-1/2 years of plumbing, wiring, plastering, woodworking, plumbing, and painting, we were ready to share Clay Faulkner's resurrected mansion with the world. In 1997, the National Trust for Historic Preservation rewarded our efforts with a first place prize in their Great American Home Award competition.
     Old-house lovers from all over the world have toured Falcon Rest. For many, the visit is extra special because they are not only meeting the owners; they are meeting the people who actually did the restoration.
     It tells them there is hope for those wonderful old buildings out there, and that it doesn't take the government or multi-million dollar grants to rescue them. Hopefully, we're inspiring lots of others regular folks like us to become historical environmentalists, and recycle architectural treasures that would otherwise be lost.

-- The Victorian Gentleman

Guests Say the Nicest Things

One of the best things about what we do is meeting the people who come to enjoy our entertainment and tour the mansion.

      Earlier this week, the North Alabama senior club members pictured above were our guests for a very energetic performance of "Murder at the Mansion." Some of our neighbors from Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg (seated left) joined the fun, as well as a couple of group leaders planning to book visits for their folks.
     This bunch really lived up to their potential as the "stars of the show!"
     After the play, the sweet young lady shown in the inset came up to me and said, "This is the best program I have attended in my entire life, and I'll be 90 years old in June!"
     That, friends, is why we do what we do! The fun at Falcon Rest may not change the course of an entire life, but we always aim at making the experience ... and the memories it leaves ... something to treasure.

For reservations, information
or itinerary planning,
call
The Victorian Lady,
Charlien McGlothin,
at 931-668-4444,
or e-mail us at falconrest@falconrest.com.

Tennessee Group Tour

On your way to anywhere
in Middle Tennessee!

Falcon Rest, 2645 Faulkner Springs Rd., McMinnville, TN. Visit the web links below for details.