Built in 1854, the same era as its fictional counterpart, Tara: A Country Inn was once the private home of Charles Koonce, a senator who made his fortune in coal and real estate. Innkeepers Donna and Jim Winner, passionate Gone With The Wind historians, scoured the South for their own Tara, but found it in the North. In 1986, after two years of restoration, they created Tara and opened the inn with the Winners’ personal collection of fine antiques. A prized acquisition that’s on display is the robe that actress Vivien Leigh wore during the honeymoon scene in the movie version.

A hostess in an antebellum gown pours you a cup of tea… As you put down your empty teacup, you reflect on the Tara that Donna and Jim have “written” – finding it hard to separate the fictional from the real. The Winners – true to their name – have won you over by making you feel fanciful. The memory of your visit … lingers on, as does the classic story itself. When you need to escape the stress of your modern world, you’ll find the answer – and the place – in the words of Scarlett O’Hara: “I’ll think of it all tomorrow, at Tara. I can stand it then.”

~ Gail Greco
Tea-Time at the Inn