I'm silenced with awe as I spot the mansion. It's magnificent. Sitting back six hundred fifty feet from an old Indian road, the ante-bellum, colonnaded home looks like a movie set—and the history-soaked site reels with enough major events for movie-making.
Scottish-born James Gordon begins building his six thousand square foot dream home in 1840. Seven years later, completion takes place. Built with bricks made on the property, craftsmen slaves construct the Greek Revival home. Once the location of a Cherokee courthouse, James Gordon's property originally consists of 2,500 acres.
After Gordon's daughter, Elizabeth, married James Lee, they lived in the house until the late 1800's. Following their death, their son, Gordon Lee, resided in the house until his death in the latter part of the 1920's. Other members of the Gordon family inhabited the property until Dr. Frank Green, a retired dentist, purchased it in the early 1970's. With the help of three prominent authorities, Dr. Green spent two years restoring the old home. Each guest room includes an excellent illustrated book on Gordon-Lee Mansion, authored by Dr. Green. Copies of the book are available for purchase.
Originally restored by Dr. Lee for museum purposes, the Gordon-Lee Mansion became an elegant bed and breakfast inn eight years ago in 1989. Richard Barclift, the congenial and capable stepson of Dr. Lee, serves as innkeeper. Dr. and Mrs. Lee, as well as Richard, reside in private homes adjacent to the mansion.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Civil War Trust Discovery Trail, Gordon-Lee Mansion lies three miles south of the oldest and largest Civil War Battlefield in the United States. During the war, the house functioned as headquarters to a Union general and the locale of seven division hospitals. The mansion includes a fascinating, well-organized artifacts' museum where it's easy to get lost in time for hours.
Gordon-Lee Mansion offers a wider choice of accommodations than most bed and breakfast inns: three guest rooms, a suite, an apartment, and a two-bedroom/two bath log house with a full kitchen (no breakfast included). Children under twelve may not stay in the mansion, but they're welcomed in the family-pleasing log house with a front porch.
The Gordon-Lee suite entices individuals who appreciate, or long for, the finer things of life. If I were a bride-to-be, staying in the Gordon-Lee bridal suite would appear at the top of my "please" list. I'd get as many nights as I could sweet talk myself into. A mahogany queen-sized four poster bed, circa 1790 from Mississippi, sets the mood of the bedchamber. Ivory antique satin, trimmed in the color of a Georgia peach, beautifies the bed with a shirred canopy and side panels. Other furnishings include a standing chevel mirror, two needlepoint Victorian chairs, a massive armoire, a mahogany Empire bureau, Oriental rugs. A distinguished portrait of Dr. Green's grandfather, a Confederate soldier who later served in the North Carolina Senate, hangs over the mantle. Oh yes--the room also includes two (a "his ‘n hers," perhaps) necessary chairs. Actually, one is just a small bench, but the other is more regal; it's a cherry wood mini-throne with a high back and side arms. A graceful sitting room, adorned with wine-colored draperies and gold leaf carved cornices, lies adjacent to the bed chamber. The private bath includes a clawfoot tub and a separate shower with adequate space.
Guests partake of a delightful continental breakfast Sunday through Friday in the dining room. Each night, Richard supplies a breakfast menu for guests to indicate their breakfast preferences for the next morning. A full country buffet makes Saturdays and Sundays favorite breakfast mornings at the inn.
At Gordon-Lee Mansion, exploring the house rivals investigating the grounds. Attempting to soak in Gordon-Lee's overwhelming sense of history, amidst such unique surroundings, imbues guests with a "reeling feeling" and a yearning to return.
INN: Gordon-Lee Mansion; LOCATION: 217 Cove Road--Chickamauga, GA (near Chattanooga, TN); TEL.: 1-800-487-4728 (reservations); ACCOMMODATIONS: 3 guest rooms, 1 suite, 1 apt., 1 log house (w/2 BR & 2 baths); all w/private baths; CHILDREN: Over 12 in mansion; BREAKFAST: Continental plus; RATES: $65-$125; CREDIT CARDS: All major; PUBLICITY: Americana, Atlanta Magazine, Georgia Journal, Southern Living; WEB SITE: www.ngeorgia.com/site/gordonlee.shtml
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