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Show X Feature Nine Gables Inn By BARBARA SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS TUESDAY JUNE 30, 1992 bed and breakfast in Kanab holds a rich history the world's champion PYLES sharp shooter," and Buffalo Bill Cody lx-The Nine Gables Inn, a and his adentures staff of Enand breakfast since May 27, glish Noblemen stayed at the 199, has a jxTsonahtv of its Woolley home own Th e hou'-e- , loc; ited at 101 The Stewart and Woolley West 1(H) North, was started in home had the first bathtub in p 1889 by the first of Kanab It was built in and lined His Kanab. with Zinc Since there was no wife. Stewart hou'-water system at the time, the Matey Stewart, sold the liefore it w as completed to Kd w m tub was filled with buckets of Ihlworth Woollev heated water It ran out through Contributing Writer Bi-ho- e sev eral years after she was married. Mary said, We still kept an open house and had a constant stream of company, and there was always plenty of work. My little boys used to get tired of leing put off and having to wait for the second table, for often there w as not much left for them. One day Royal said, Mamma, lets open a bottle of grapes and not invite a single soul!" (The large malaga grapes from Dixie were his favorite fruit.) The story has been told that when Dee Chamberlain lived in the house as a boy he went out to play and found two cougars in the bam. Government trappers had stored them in the bam while stay ing at the house. The cougars escaped and Grandpa Woolley had to recapture them. The next family to live in the house was the Hoyt Chamber-lai- n family. They remodeled the house and enjoyed it for many years. After Hoyt passed away, Kate later married John Martin from back east. Together they restored all the fireplaces, decorated inside and out, replaced turrets and the white picket the kitchen. They removed it and built a beautiful winding staircase near the front door. Bantlin, who is retired, had to rewire the whole house and put in new plumbing. He took out old floors and fixed the cracks in the walls. Memories from the house poured out of the walls and floors. He found old newspapers from the 1940s stuffed in cracks in the walls. While working he discovered a box of about 300 shoe horns. I had hoped to find many goodies in the house, said Bantlin. Under the dining room floor, he found 50 pair of old shoes. The shoes were relics from the days when button shoes were in style. There were pieces of leather cut out of each shoe. Bantlin said the people in those days just didnt throw out anything. They found an old journal in the attic. WTioever used the journal had started at the back of the book. The Bantlins turned stuffing in i t, came from her great grandfathers homestead. Abed, from World War II, belonged to her great aunt. The dining room table belonged to her grandmother. A exquisite vase in the living room has been in his family for years. The couple said they do have a few old pieces that were purchased at yard sales. An old rocking chair in the parlor was traded for a two days stay at the house. One of their prized possessions is a w ood carving that was given to them by friends, Don and Ardis Fern. The carving had been in Ardiss family for 100 years, says Jeanne. The Ferns felt the carving belonged at the Nine Gables Inn. Frank, a people person, is retired. He runs the bed and breakfast from May to October. Jeanne works in Winslow, Az., but will retire soon. She comes home every other weekend. Im away so much, it feels so good to come fence. The outside of this elegant home was sometimes used for movies being filmed in Kanab when Kanab was known as Little Hollywood." Frank and Jeanne Bantlin are the present owners. They bought from the house Hoyt Chamberlain's widow. The a drain, ami a ditch carrn-into the garden to water thi- trees and Bowers Emma Woolley was a gracious and always offered it to her iinp ' Mary Woolley ') r.uin - )ournal, theongi mu ft. id a large front room, :..i a m.i.i uii.ing room, a ery small lut i fit !. and a fair sized led n m The was always k ; t ,i- - a spare room" There w ere two large and one small U drooms upstairs The house a- - only one and a half stories, -- o the ceilings were low upstairs and loped on the sides The hou-- e wa- - the first permanent t ruct ure house in Kanab. It was built out of double bnck with v an ery room at one time A ii r d f th-wat- - i ho-te- ss guests However, the bathtub wasn't installed until someyears after the family moved into the house. Emma Woolley spent much of her time workingoutside. There was a lucerne patch nestled snugly in a corner to furnish green feed for the turkey s, chickens and pigs. She took care of a big garden, fruit trees and bushes There was a beautiful id wall out A- - tta- children grew up and lawn and flowers on the souththe family east and west of the house, and increased, company addon a large r dining room, English ivy that ran up the east whufi to, k f, rty yards of home- wall and covered the bay winmade t.irjxt to coer, a larger dow Chamberlain said in her kit cht n a pantry, a bathroom, a journal that it took years, time, wash h e and a large sleeping niom-- and much hard work to put everything together. porch, it was a real porch, After seeing a riding pony for entire width of the west side of the house. This made us the girls, a buggy horse, driving very comfortable indeed. We teams, and saddle horses around thoroughly enjoyed our home, the home for years, the first which was always open to friends horseless carriage in Kanab, a and strangers," said Mary E. 1913 Ford touring car, must have seemed out of place parked in Woolley Chamberlain There were no hotel in Kinab front of this pioneer home. and the house soon became a Mary Woolley Chamberlain, t. woman mayor of Kanab, Such first to popular place prominent visitors a- Mormon lived in the house as a child and Church Presidents, Brigham young adult. She also lived in Young and Heber J. Grant, nov- the house with her two sons elist Zane Grey, Jonnie Baker, Royal and Dee Chamberlain for -- -- U-in- g y u-- run-ningth- vi-i- e couple fell m love with the house while visiting Kinab and took in July of 1987. Not posses-io- n only did it become a Bed and Breakfast, it became their home. They call their home the Nine Gables Inn. Bantlin began his remodeling by gutting the upstairs. There were only three small bedrooms and a massive area that wasnt developed," said Bantlin. I npped out floors and removed all of the old plaster. When the couple was finished, the upstairs had three bedrooms, each with its own bath. There is also a comfortable parlor w here guests can sit quietly for a time. Its furnished with an old victrola that was her great aunts, an old court house bench, a secretary from England, and a bookcase that has been in Franks family for years. The Bantlins added a wet bar and T.V. for the comfort of their guest. While remodeling, the Bantlins tried to utilize what was in the house. They removed layers of paint from all the door hardware making it look like new. They put in all new win-dws upstairs, but kept the origi- o nal ones downstairs. Next the Bantlins tore out the stairs. The authentic staircase, only a doors length wide, was in The comfortable living room where guests are evening while staying at the Nine Gables Inn. the book around and use it as their guest book. The kitchen still has appliances from the 40s that are working. The couple plan to keep the appliances, but add modem ones that cant be seen from the dining room. Bantlin plans to redo the counter tops, but he will keep the same color. The couple will keep the original kitchen cabinets, but put in new glass front doors. They want the kitchen to look as authentic as encouraged to enjoy a quiet Photo ty Barbara Pyles home, she says One of the things Frank and I try to stress with our guests is we want them to feel at home. Bantlin said a couple from England stayed with them for several days. We were telling them about our house and its history, he said. And then they told us their house was built in 1694. Bantlin smiled, I quess Im not going to brag about this house anymore. Guests from all over the world and the United States have stayed at the Nine Gables Inn. They feel so comfortable that they often stay an extra day. Bantlin said, People just take a look and stay. Maybe its because hospitality at the Nine Gable is still the same as when Woolley owned it. Note: A lot of the information in this article came from the journal of Mary E. Woolley Chamberlain and from the new own- possible. The bricks were deteriorating on the outside of the house so they painted them. The Bantlins dont know if this will stop the bricks from deteriorating. Along with remodeling the house, the Bantlins furnished it with antique furniture that has been in both of their families for years. A persian rug in the living room was a wedding present to his parents. A rocking chair, that still has the old horsehair ers, Frank and Jeanne Bantlin. V, mrm |
