at home
all “inn” the family: teresa suttle turns great-great-granDfather’s Centreville house into B&B
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By Donna Cornelius photos By miChelle lepianka Carter
f there are any ghosts in the Vance-Ellison House, they’re more likely to high-five its new owner than haunt her. Robert Vance built the stately Centreville house in 1899. His great-great-granddaughter, Teresa Suttle, has given the place a new lease on life by turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. Suttle bought the house last year, started work on it in September 2014 and opened it as a B&B this summer. Suttle said her ancestor was an engineer from Scotland. The house later was owned by attorney John Tullis Ellison and his wife, Eva Cooper Ellison. “Mr. Ellison bought the house from my great-great-grandfather,” Suttle said. “He had two daughters, Rhoda and Connie, who never married and lived in this house all their lives. Rhoda wrote some books about Bibb County. The family was very well-educated and traveled to Europe.” The house eventually wound up in the hands of Ellison descendants Amy Sloaf and Howard Ellison IV, who live in Tennessee. Suttle said they contacted her to see if she’d be interested in buying
+breakfast the house because they knew she had successfully completed a similar project. She had bought and renovated The Oaks, a Centreville antebellum home, and opened it as an event venue in 2011. “They had no earthly idea I had any connection to their house,” Suttle said.
>> LEFT: Guests can choose from a variety of fresh-made breakfast options at the Vance-ellison house in Centreville. TOP: one of the guest rooms features colorful bedding. OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP LEFT: the house has retained much of its historic charm in the details, like this accented window. BOTTOM LEFT: Fresh biscuits are part of the breakfast spread. BOTTOM RIGHT: a grand entry and staircase greet guests.
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