6 minute read
Hatley home
The Henry Clay Meigs house dates to before Oklahoma became a state and sits across from the Fort Gibson stockade.
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Historic home rebuilt as vacation rental
History surrounds visitors to Wendy and Tom Hatley’s vacation rental in “Oklahoma’s first town.”
Henry Clay Meigs, grandson of Cherokee Chief John Ross, built the white farm house in 1890.
The replica of the log Army stockade, part of the Fort Gibson Historic Site, is right across the street on Ash Avenue.
Hatley recalled growing up being intrigued by the house. But it had deteriorated over the years.
“We bought it in 2017; it was almost a tear-down,” she said.
By Cathy Spaulding • Photos by Mandy Corbell
With help from family and friends, the Hatleys spent four years returning the house to livable condition.
She said Derek Pfeiffer of Fort Gibson’s Complete Remodeling “was vital in the restoration.”
“He could do things we couldn’t do,” Hatley said. “I called him the week I bought it. He loves this house and he’s been on board the whole four-year project.”
They all worked to undo decades of remodeling and “modernizing.”
“The ceilings in here were all dropped and sheet-rocked,” Hartley said. “We didn’t know we had these 10 foot ceilings.”
The house retains its original beadboard ceilings and heart pine floors. Remnants of the original wallpaper can be seen in the entry. Most of the windows also are original. Hatley said she set up shop in a nearby shed and restored them herself.
Sconces are original to the house. The rest are purchased from eBay or donated.
ABOVE: Wendy Hatley says the kitchen is her favorite room in her vacation rental.
LEFT: Items throughout the Henry Clay Meig house came from such places as the Red Shed, Hattie’s House, Granny’s Porch and Briar Patch.
The kitchen features vintage appliances with such modern elements as a cooktop stove.
“Most are period,” she said. “We found out the house was built before Fort Gibson got electricity around 1905.”
Don’t worry, the house features all new electricity, all new plumbing. Comfort Heat and Air of Tahlequah installed the nearly unseen heat and air.
“The guy who did our heat and air hid it so well,” Hartley said. “We put it where it’s above you and behind you in every room you enter. You’re going to notice it when you walk into the room. But you don’t see it.”
Visitors also won’t see the flat-screen TV when they enter the parlor. They’re more likely to see the spinning wheel by the window and the hutch full of books. The TV is tucked in a corner, above a steel sewing machine treadle.
Hatley said most of the furniture was donated by or purchased from friends. She got a parlor recliner from Bob Loftis Furniture.
A reading room and den has shelves of photos of Meigs and his family, as well as history of the house, the fort and the region.
The original house had no kitchen until about 1900, when an addition was built, she said. The kitchen was located in two locations over the years.
The Hatleys gutted the original kitchen to the floor.
ABOVE: A fresh baked pie in a cast iron skillet awaits diners.
BELOW: A curtain hides a dishwasher, and the kitchen sink dates to the 1930s.
ABOVE: A walk-in pantry features shelving for tableware.
LEFT: A dining area also features a sink.
LEFT: People can read about the history of the Meigs family, as well as the Fort Gibson area, in a reading room.
BELOW: Baskets of all sorts hang from a wood ceiling.
“We did not know this was the kitchen when we bought it,” she said. “We could see grass.”
The kitchen sink was bought brand new — back in the 1930s. Curtains hide a dishwasher and microwave under the counters. A refrigerator is in a properly-ventilated cabinet. The oven dates to the 1920s, but features a new cooktop from Lowe’s.
People can enjoy breakfast by a corner window.
Hatley turned the other old kitchen into a laundry room.
A first-floor powder room has a military bathtub from the late 1800s. But it’s only for show, not bathing.
“We were afraid if we put hot water in it, it would continue deteriorating,” she said.
The bedrooms are on the second floor, up the steep, winding watch-yourstep stairway.
The master bedroom has a kingsized bed with a cozy throw. An ensuite
RIGHT: Photos of Henry Clay Meigs and his family are on a shelf.
BELOW: The living room features a spinning wheel and a braided rug. A TV is hidden on a back wall.
bathroom has a shower.
The other two bedrooms share a hall bathroom.
Baby Boomers are sure to love the second bedroom. It features framed Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Baby Huey comics over the twin beds and a framed Pin the Tail on the Donkey game.
“We tried to think of things we had in our childhood,” Harley said. “We didn’t really want it to be a child’s room, but we just kind of channeled it.”
Hatley loves the third bedroom best. It features a queen bed and intricately quilted bedspread.
“This is the first room I finished, the first floor I finished, the first ceiling I stained, the first walls I painted,” she said, adding that she can see her flowerbed from a window.
Hatley designed the flower beds to attract butterflies.
“Lots of dill, fennel, zinnias, Mexican sunflowers, lots of the old fashioned pink phlox that gets waist high,” she said.
ABOVE: The main bedroom features a wood floor, cozy throw and en suite bathroom.
LEFT: Framed comic book covers add a Baby Boomer touch to a guest bedroom.
Watch carefully for a woodchuck that frequently visits the garden and noshes on tomatoes.
“He is so stinking cute,” Hatley said. “He’ll come out here when the clover’s in, and he just looks around like a little man.”
The Hatleys opened their vacation rental last October.
Guests have said they love the house’s history and have given good reviews, Hatley said.
“The only thing is the train,” Hatley said, referring to a train that runs about a block south.
The train’s rumble has a tendency to shift wall hangings, she said.
“I warn people who are here are overnight that there’s a train whistle,” she said.
A vintage military bathtub in the powder room is for show only, not for bathing.
