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Historic homes welcome guests in Chatom

While in Chatom, I have had the pleasure of staying with my community partner Jessica Ross. However, for other people interested in visiting Chatom, finding a place to stay can be extremely challenging unless you know someone who lives in the area.

The Timberland Motel is one option. However, many visitors opt for hotels in Jackson, Alabama, or Waynesboro, Mississippi that are at least 30 minutes away, never realizing that there are also two bed and breakfast homes here available for accommodations.

These aren’t just any regular homes. These homes are historic fixtures in Chatom.

In 1904, the man known as the founder of Chatom, Fred J. Jordan, built the Jordan House. It sits on the corner at the one red light in Chatom, right in the center of town.

Through the years, ownership of the house was passed down through the family with a few renovations along the way. The most important goal for owners of the home has been to preserve the house that has been in Chatom since the very beginning.

Around 2011, Penny McDaniel and her daughter Holly Jordan, of Jordan Holdings, LLC decided to make the home a bed and breakfast. McDaniel led the renovation. Others such as Tiffany Dumas has helped with the marketing and managing of the bed and breakfast.

Now guests who rent the restored farmhouse can enjoy four bedrooms, beginning at $125 per room used and increasing $25 with each additional room used, as well as breakfast vouchers for the Mini Mart, and a bag of named brand toiletries. The Minimart is also managed by Jordan Holdings, LLC.

Not long after the Jordan House was built, somewhere between 1905 and 1907, the Sadie House was built. According to Cindy Craig, the owner of the house, this was the third house ever built in Chatom. After it was built, it was sold to Sadie and Bill Dumas, Craig’s aunt and uncle.

Thirteen years ago, Craig and her husband Carl purchased the home with the intention to save it and keep it as original as possible with few renovations. In 2007, they turned the home into the first bed and breakfast in Chatom. Rent for the house begins at $75 for one bed and increases to $100 for the additional bed. Guests also have a choice of continental breakfast.

The Craig’s home is also a location for Warm Showers, meaning that they host cyclists passing through Chatom. With this free service offered at the home, guests from Canada to Sweden have found themselves in Chatom and have even enjoyed learning about the history and culture of the community.

For more information about the motel and these homes visit: https://chatom.org/places-to-eat-in-chatom/lodging/

 

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