In a recent trip to the Walnut Lane Inn, we embarked on a walk back in history. This historical home is nestled in the little town of Lyman, SC. Whether just visiting for lunch at the Cookie Jar Cafe, or if you'd like to bring a homeschool group for a tour, the pristine grounds are great for pictures. To understand where we are, and where we are going, we must first understand where we've been. A visit to the Walnut Lane Inn will both tantalize the senses and give your kids a sense of time past.
To schedule a tour, or make reservations call David Ades at (864) 949-7230.
Mystery at Walnut Lane Inn
Imagine
this old majestic house sitting proudly on a hill waiting like an eternal
hostess ready to greet you. The
lawn is perfectly manicured with topiaries, and bushes surround the house that
are original too the grounds. The
yard has been leveled off to accommodate large parties or a wedding on the
lawn. As you ascend into the house
by the wrap around porch, a guest will walk into the parlor, which still has a
seam in the middle of it showing where it was once divided. When your host or
hostess greets you, you look around this pristine home that looks like a
painting of Victorian Tea Party You
are seated at one of the round tables, and it is a feast for your eyes, and a
delight of your senses. The rooms are filled with classic china patterns, and
the pattern that catches my eye is the Royal Albert, Old Country Roses.
When
sitting at the round tables covered in linen, you order your lunch of
overstuffed sandwiches or chicken salad with fruit. In the background piano
music plays, and you definitely get a sense of history of another time. The proprietors are both delightful and
accommodating. They will answer any question you might have without any pause;
welcome you to tour the grounds, and to invite you to take pictures. Whether you
are here for lunch at the Cookie Jar, staying at the Bed and Breakfast, or
having your wedding here you can count on serene surroundings and southern
hospitality.
Being
such an old home, you can’t help but wonder and marvel at the sense of history
that is all around you. It is like another hostess that welcomes you to the property.
If you can tour the home, and I recommend that you do, you will find a hallway
full of pictures of the prior residents, and pictures of the house throughout
the years. In a way, the whole town of Lyman, South Carolina sprang up around
this one home.
Augustus
Belton Groce was born in Greenville, South Carolina back in 1852. He married
into money in 1878. Because of his union with her he was able to build you
are here for lunch at the Cookie Jar, staying at the Bed and Breakfast, or
having your wedding here you can count on serene surroundings and southern
hospitality.
Being
such an old home, you can’t help but wonder and marvel at the sense of history
that is all around you. It is like another hostess that welcomes you to the property.
If you can tour the home, and I recommend that you do, you will find a hallway
full of pictures of the prior residents, and pictures of the house throughout
the years. In a way, the whole town of Lyman, South Carolina sprang up around
this one home.
Augustus
Belton Groce was born in Greenville, South Carolina back in 1852. He married
into money in 1878. Because of his union with her he was able to build even
the electric company. They used to flicker the lights in town at ten minutes
before ten to let the town know it was going to go to bed for the night.
Together, the Groce’s had five children: three boys, and two girls.[i]
As
conscience parents, the Groce’s set up their children very well when it came to
their inheritance. All three of the Groce sons were set up with their own
residences that were ever bit as big as the house that A.B. Groce resided in
and were on the same block. His
daughters inherited the main house, but neither one was willing to sell their
half of the house to the other, so the house was divided by a wall. The sisters
agreed to “accommodate each other” with each sister resided in her half the
house. Along with the wall an extra staircase was put in place, so there are
two staircases on every floor. Tragically, one of the sisters died just one
year after the renovations were completed. That explains the seam on the floor
in the front parlor. The inhabitant that followed the two sisters was the
granddaughter of A.B. Groce and her husband that lived in the home till 1995.[i]
Mary Ella Hammond Machen and her husband only left this gracious inn because
they decided to move into a retirement home.[ii]
There
are many who would speculate that the Groce’s never left. Ades has felt like
someone is watching him, and his partner Hoyt Dottry thinks he saw A.B. Groce
out of the corner of his eye one night in the kitchen. The outfit he is wearing
in the photo matches the one in the hall. Most of the time Ades doesn’t want to
talk about the unpaid guests. But the paid guests still tell their stories, and
one stated that there is an old maid in the kitchen. No matter how much denial
we can give, the stories don’t stop. Many of the guests report two ladies
gossiping in the front parlor. Guests speculate that they could be Groce’s two
daughters, still chatting the evenings away.[iii]
Paranormal
investigators have been out to the site, and done investigations out there. Their
findings suggest that the attic, the kitchen, the Mallard Room, the Orchard Room,
and the basement all show signs of activity. However, the activity doesn’t seem
to bother the current owners one bit.
They feel that the spirits are happy there, and that they definitely
enjoy the music in the house. When they were asked if they wanted the house
cleaned of the spirits, Ades said no. But even as our skeptic, he has had his
moment of belief too.
Ades
had been working up in the attic doing some electrical work, and there was
nothing up there. Even the bed they found when they moved in already was in a
new location. The attic was empty, and had recently been cleaned. The
paranormal crew came through and all seemed quiet and well. They came back to
find a strip of picture film, a photo, and a really old spinning top on a beam
in the attic. The top even had carved grooves in it that you could tell were
recently made, and you could also tell the top itself was very old. The room
was vacant and clean. Question is, who or what put them there?
 |
| These are the clues left during a paranormal investigation |
Works Cited
[i]
Ades, David. An Abbreviated brief history that is available to guests at the
Walnut
Lane Inn. A special thanks to David Ades
for opening his Inn, his notes, and
sharing the
afternoon with me.
[ii]
Sondov, Lori. Historic Lyman Home Will Become an Inn,
the Greer Citizen,
Wednesday, January 4, 1995. Print.
[iii]
Boyanoski, John.
Ghosts of Upstate South
Carolina. Print.
[i]
History of Lyman, South Carolina Notes from the Public Library at 170 Groce
Road,
Lyman, SC
29365. Special thanks to the Spartanburg County Library System.
