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According to Florida Trend magazine, Micanopy is the prettiest town in Florida. It is "oak and pecan trees draped with Spanish moss that shade a sleepy two-lane road to Old Florida's last stand". And the crown jewel in this pollution-free paragon of a place? The Herlong Mansion, says the magazine.
It is hard to disagree with that verdict. Begun in 1875 as a humble two-story house, the property grew along with the Herlong family's fortunes from timber and citrus. By 1915, times were good enough to build a classical revival mansion on top of the original structure, complete with a Corinthian-columned frontage, and leaded glass and mahogany inlays galore.
It now belongs to Sonny Howard, who runs what Florida Trend describes as "easily Florida's most elegant bed-and-breakfast ". There are eleven rooms and suites in all, with private facilities. The rooms are all equipped with fireplaces and are furnished with fine antiques. Smoking is prohibited. Pricing include a full breakfast of homemade pastries, croissants, eggs, sausage and fresh fruit.
Micanopy is a quiet and romantic little place, its tree-canopied streets full of antique and curio shops (there were 16 of them at last count). There is not a fast-food outlet to be seen. The Micanopy Museum, housed in the 100 year old Thrasher Warehouse, is within walking distance of the Herlong Mansion. It is a short drive to Cross Creek and the home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Yearling; or to the 20,000 acre wildlife sanctuary of Payne's Prairie State Preserve. The family attractions of Orlando are about a two-hour drive away.
The ghost at the Herlong Mansion is Inez Herlong, the former owner of the house, who so loved the property that she sacrificed her family ties to do so. The first people to "meet" Inez were a team of workmen brought in the strip and varnish the floors in 1987. Because there was no electricity in the house, the crew slept in sleeping bags in the ground-floor parlor. Sometime between midnight and dawn they heard the door of a second-floor room open and close, followed by the sound of footsteps in the hall. Suspecting local hooligans, the workmen ran up to the hall - only to find it deserted.
Innkeeper Sonny Howard believes the spirit the workmen heard was Inez, because she braved a lifelong family feud to own the house. Her mother left the property to be divided among her six children, but they quarreled about who should live there. Eventually, Inez Herlong Miller, who had also inherited money from her husband's estate, bought out her brothers and sisters after a two-year legal battle. She had won her beloved home, but she lost her family. None of them ever spoke to her again. In her declining years, Inez was increasingly unable to look after the house properly. She collapsed and died while cleaning and polishing on the second floor. When her remains left the building, however, her spirit stayed on. She now helps Sonny Howard "run" the inn, and Howard takes delight in telling his guests the story of the Herlong Mansion's ghost.
But he doesn't tell them the story until after breakfast. And then only when he has asked everyone whether they slept well. "I'm a logical man", he says, "but 75% of all the 'experiences' revealed at the breakfast table, in the broad light of day, come from people who slept (or didn't sleep) in Inez's favorite room". Which room is that? Howard is not saying, not until you have spent a night there. But guests who have been in the haunted room report locked doors opening, lights flickering on and off, lowered window shades being raised and a "feeling" of Inez's presence.
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| $70 - $175 | ||
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