Patty and Mason Tarr purchased the Ashford Inn in June 2006. The question we are most frequently asked is “how did you end up owning a B&B in Clinton, NC”? Patty has always wanted to own a B&B. She has a natural talent for hospitality and a flair for entertaining. After having spent a 25 year career in finance for an architectural firm, she knew the time was right to follow her dream.

Mason spent the last five years in customer service for a national moving company and ten years prior in the party rental business. He too was at a crossroads in his career. With each of us having different but compatible strengths, we felt we had a good mix of skills for this type of venture.

We began our search to find the perfect B&B. The resort towns we looked at offered seasonal business and expensive real estate. When we found The Ashford Inn, we found the house had all of the charm and elegance we were looking for. It was not in a resort town but a progressive town, very committed to strengthening its economic development.

The house itself had all of the features we were looking for. There are 5 elegant guest rooms, a year-round business class customer base and an established banquet business. It was being sold as a “turn-key” business, which meant we could move in and begin operating right away without any down time for major renovations.

We are very happy to have chosen Clinton as our home. We love the house and the new career suits us both perfectly.

The Ashford Inn began as a simple two room dwelling built in 1839 by George Marsh. It was purchased by Civil War Colonel John Ashford and his wife Elizabeth in 1869, where they raised their family. They added two rooms to the first floor and a second floor with four additional rooms. When the home was sold by the Ashford family in 1995, renovations began to convert this gracious southern home into a bed and breakfast and the Inn that it is today.

Colonel Ashford served as one of the commanding officers in the North Carolina Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. He fought on the front lines at Gettysburg and Fredericksburg. He was with General Robert E. Lee when he turned his regiment over to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

The Ashford Inn lays claim to the "legend of the black arrow". Most everyone in town knows of and has seen the black arrow, which curiously manifests itself nightly in front of the inn. The arrow sparks the imagination of young and old alike. A "Must See" during your stay.