Update Thursday, Feb. 5: Ellerbe Town Clerk Jane Smith said the Ellerbe Springs Inn owners have withdrawn their bid for the rest top due to unexpected expenses related to the re-opening of the inn.
Area was once home of Civil War era church
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
ELLERBE — Two acres that once bore the weight of a Civil War era church could soon — and once again — be owned by the Ellerbe Springs Inn.
Town of Ellerbe officials approved Monday moving forward with selling the former rest stop, located at the corner of U.S. Highway 220 and State Route 73 West. The issue was discussed in November. Since then, one bidder has come forward — Mark A. Bucheridge, who along with his wife Donna in 2013 purchased Ellerbe Springs Inn with the intent to relocate from Maryland. The inn is expected to celebrate its Grand Opening next month.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
The former Ellerbe Rest Stop could soon change ownership.
Bucheridge’s bid is for $10,000, but the sale is not yet final. Town officials must advertise the bid. It’s possible another bidder come into play. If so, Bucheridge would have the chance to increase his bid.
The two tracts, which total 2.05 acres, are owned by the town of Ellerbe and the location was the original home for the Ellerbe Springs Presbyterian Church, built in 1857. Former Ellerbe Springs Inn owner Neal Cadieu said Ellerbe Springs Inn owned all of the property form 1947 to 1953 but when the youth organization abandoned the property, ownership reverted to Richmond County government.
While the Boy Scouts still owned the land, however, they sold what became the rest stop to the North Carolina Department of Transportation around 1949 with a clause that indicate if DOT ever closed the property, it would revert back to its owner. That clause stayed with the exchange of owners throughout the decades.
In 1994, Steve Martin drew this image of the former Ellerbe Springs Presbyterian Church from old photographers.
The county sold Ellerbe Springs Inn in 1969, but the sale came with two deeds — one for the inn and a second for the rest stop. The sale included the reverter clause. Cadieu and his wife, Joanne, purchased the property in 1991. The Cadieu family sold it in 2002 to Jim and Donna Lane with an owner-financed contract. When the Lanes decided they couldn’t support the inn, ownership reverted back to the Cadieus.
In April 2011, the Cadieus donated the rest stop area to the town of Ellerbe while DOT officials kept the rest stop operational. Neal Cadieu said that was when Olivia Webb was mayor, and town officials had hoped to do something with it. Plans never materialized, however, and when the DOT shut down the rest stop approximately three years ago, the reverter clause once again kicked in — this time back to the town of Ellerbe.
