.png)
About the Inn
Dating to around 1834, the Elizabethtown Inn is one of the oldest structures still standing in Bladen County, North Carolina. Originally the home of Colonel John McDowell, the house reportedly served as a hospital during the Civil War.
The house is in the Greek Revival style of architecture, and has been called home by half a dozen different families over the years. Several renovations and additions have been made since the house was originally constructed, and in the late 1930s the house was moved a couple hundred yards from its original site, just east of the current location. In 2015, renovations began to create the Inn that you see today.
The house around 1940, photographed by the Historic American Buildings Survey. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The Cole Cousins (missing two) with our "Grandaddy Hunter" - taken in the breakfast room of the Inn.
My husband (Nick) and I on our wedding day in front of the Inn. Who knew we would own it less than a year later?!
A legacy
of love
The Elizabethtown Inn is known by another name to my family — “Grandaddy’s House.”
My grandfather, Hunter Cole, purchased this home in the 1980s. In the years that followed, 105 Cromartie Road became the heart of a family that poured love into one another and celebrated life within its walls.
Personally, I lost my first tooth here, learned how to drive here, and spent every holiday here with my family until 2015. I even had my wedding reception in the back garden in 2025!
Weddings, showers, Christmas parties, and regular weeknight dinners were the norm at Hunter Cole’s house. My husband and I now look to the future, excited to expand upon and continue that tradition by inviting others to celebrate life’s milestones in this cherished home.
- Kathryn Cole Peterson