The Inn at Brevard is hard to miss, with its distinctive white columns and presence on East Main Street. The historic home is known as the William Breese Jr. House, named after the family who occupied it longest in its early history. Records are contradictory as to when the house was built as well – some say 1885, some say 1895, and some say 1901. The 1901 date seems the most likely, but cannot be confirmed.

The house’s namesake William “Bill” Edmond Breese Jr. (1873-1939) was an attorney, state senator, and Brevard’s mayor for two terms.  He was the owner and editor of the Sylvan Valley News for many years in the 1920s, which was a precursor to the Transylvania Times. He was instrumental in securing the bill that provided funding for a railroad connecting Brevard to Greenville, SC and Knoxville, TN.

Bill and his family lived in the house, but the circumstances were different than one might expect. The house was owned by Martha Allen Edmond Woodbridge, Breese’s mother-in-law. The 1900 Census shows Martha, her daughter Rebekah Nicholson Woodbridge Breese, her son-in-law Bill Breese Jr., her granddaughter Margaret Breese, and many relatives of Bill, including his father, his sister, his five half-siblings, and even an elderly family friend of Breese’s father, John S. Rice.

Martha Woodbridge is listed as the head of household for the 1900 Census, with many of her son-in-law’s family members listed as “boarders” and her own occupation listed as “capitalist.” She was originally from Richmond, VA and lived the majority of her life there with husband George Nicholson Woodbridge until his untimely death due to suicide in 1892. It appears that shortly after that time is when she moved to Brevard. Only her daughter Rebekah and son Robert survived into adulthood. Robert lived in Costa Rica and married there.

What seems to explain the large family group living in the residence is that William Breese Sr. had been widowed twice. His second marriage to Mary Motte Hume resulted in five children – all half siblings of Bill. When Bill’s stepmother Mary Motte Hume Breese died, the half siblings were all still minors and came under the care of the extended family.

The property the large house was built upon appears to have once been owned by Robert W. Hume, who was Mary Motte Hume Breese’s father, and that it was deeded to her and her siblings upon his death. Records also seem to indicate that the other siblings sold their interest to Mary, thus showing that the plot of land that became the site of the house may have actually belonged to the Hume family and the Breese family acquired it through this second marriage and the inheritance.

The house itself stayed in the family until the Great Depression when it was lost to indebtedness and has been operating as an inn since the 1950s. It has changed hands many times and had an additional guest building constructed in 1957.

The history of this fascinating house continues to be discovered as more is learned about the people and era. Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Sperry. Sources available upon request. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at [email protected] or 828-884-1820.