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DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
For many years, Cincinnatians Nancy and Bob Swartzel routinely passed the Willis Graves home in Burlington, Kentucky without a glance, on their way to the Burlington Antique Show. The home, built sometime in the 1830s for Willis Graves, a prominent political figure in County Government at the time, was an attractive federal brick home featuring Flemish bond brickwork and federal style mantels.
One day a For Sale sign appeared in the yard and they took a closer look. By then, the house was sporting dirty, white siding and a hip roof over the front porch. Despite its condition, the Swartzels saw a diamond in the rough, and in December of 1991, they purchased the property and began renovation under the direction of Master-carpenter Bob Brames.
Brames and his wife Jean (who are also Nancy's parents) and Nancy and husband Bob, poured sweat and determination into the project. In August, 1995, the inn opened for business.
About ten years later, the Swartzels made another purchase – for $1 – to salvage a second historic landmark. This was an 1850's log cabin, originally owned by farmer William C. Rouse.
The cabin sat squarely in the middle of a proposed runway at the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. It was wrapped in battered white siding and lined with layers of faded wallpaper.
Nancy and Bob arranged to have the two hundred and sixteen poplar logs dismantled and hauled on flat bed trucks over four miles to their inn. After two years of reassembly and renovation, their log cabin getaway opened to guests in November, 2004.
The Swartzels say Innkeeping requires 3 major things. You need to be a morning person, like people, and have lots of energy. Everyday these three things are necessary along with a lot of hard work, but the Swartzels wouldn’t have it any other way. For more information, please visit their website at www.burligrave.com.
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