History of Antlers on the Creek

Originally, this property was the homestead for the entire Lightner Creek Canyon. Now, the parcel is approximately 4.5 acres, but at the turn of the century, it encompassed thousands of acres which now belong to the Department of Wildlife & Forest Service.

The house was built in 1903 along with the great, old barn. The core part of the house was solid, as can be seen by the 32 inches of rock wall. There was a living room and two bedrooms upstairs, kitchen and bathroom downstairs. You can still see where the original house was through the thick walls that now serve as doorways and windows.

In the 30’s, the current living room was added, leaving the old living room to be the master bedroom. There was a rock fireplace, as evidenced on the outside of the Inn, which had no damper, was wonderful, but even in those days was probably used for the aesthetics, as there is evidence of a coal stove that was in the corner and a coal box.

In the 50’s, another wing was added as a two-car garage. In the 80’s, a separate building was erected. It hosted a three-car garage and living quarters above. An interior designer lived there at the time and used this new building as a design studio. At about the same time, the same owner added on the glorious sunroom, surrounded by windows, which is now the dining room. At that time, they changed the attached garage into bedrooms.

As far as we know, four families lived in the house before it became an Inn in 1993. The property was purchased by Richard and Julie Houston who, when they bought the property, had the vision to turn it into a Bed & Breakfast. Lots of remodeling was done, year after year and the Inn opened in May of 1993. Beginning with just two guest rooms, each year rooms were added until there were nine in total. The innkeeper’s residence was built in 1999, located behind the barn.

Stan and Suzy Savage owned the Inn from 1999-2002, when Tom and Marianne Gilliam ran it from 2002-2005. In August of 2005 Scott Martin, Ellen, and their four children, moved into the innkeeper’s house behind the barn and took over the property. In 2013, Susan Barrett purchased the property and made it into what we now know as Antlers on the Creek Bed & Breakfast. She took time and care to remodel and upgrade many of the amenities you find in your room as well as around the Inn. Not only did she remodel all of the bathrooms during this time, but she also replaced all of the furnishings to be in line with her vision for Antlers on the Creek!

In May of 2023, Karen Weidner purchased the property from Susan with the plan to reopen Antlers on the Creek after Susan reluctantly closed due to covid and health issues in early 2021. Karen looks forward to carrying on the tradition of giving guests the experience of a lifetime with a focus on adventure and health and wellbeing.

* The information above was gathered from neighbors, realtors, and former owners and is accurate to the best of our knowledge. If you have any history or stories to share, please do so!