Greene Gables Inn becomes private home
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By Carmen Ensinger
After more than a decade as a bed and breakfast, along with wedding and event venue, Greene Gables Inn in White Hall has been sold and is being turned back into a private residence.
Jan and Terry Price first purchased the home in the early 2000’s and extensively remodeled it filling it with exquisite antiques when they decided to turn it into a bed and breakfast. An outdoor pavilion was added for weddings and events and beautiful gardens were constructed to give it that extra special touch.
But, the Prices decided to go back to England and in 2013 after sitting empty for three years, David and LuAnn Mansfield stepped up and purchased the business from the Prices in October of 2013 and welcomed their first guests in March of 2014.
LuAnn Mansfield, who was a teacher, had been working for the Prices in the summers when she wasn’t teaching. She and her husband talked it over and they decided to try their hand at becoming inn keepers.
But they weren’t in the endeavor alone. They enlisted the help of their daughter, Lyn Ann Mansfield-Young, who was already experience in event planning. She would become the events manager for Greene Gables pulling in weddings and showers from as far away as Bloomington and Chicago. Her two sons would help with the groundskeeping, along with David, LuAnn did the cooking and for the next eight years, Greene Gables operated as a family business.
Greene Gables survived 2020 and COVID-19, but 2021 brought health issues to certain members of the family and an opportunity that they just couldn’t pass up. Mansfield-Young calls it being in the right place at the right time.
“We had been having some family health issues – my dad had had a heart attack in January and I was diagnosed with epilepsy and could no longer drive myself down from Springfield,” she said. “Then, we had someone approach us and ask us if we would ever consider selling it.”
The family considered all of the health issues they were experiencing and took that as a sign.
“My mom and dad have always said that everything is always for sale and this was a great opportunity for all of us,” Mansfield-Young said. “We all had fun doing it these past eight years, but we paid attention to the signs and came to the determination that it was time to move on.”
Mansfield-Young admits that it is a bittersweet moment for the whole family.
“We made a lot of friends from both out of state and within the state that would become our regular guests and customers over the years,” she said. “We knew if we threw an event on Mother’s Day or New Year’s Eve who was going to show up and we knew at certain points within the year what guests would arrive. We hosted business clients with the nursing home, Hanor and Zoetis who became our friends and trusted customers so it is kind of sad that we won’t get to send them anymore or be able to offer something local that is close where they need to work.”
