Renovation of Dillsboro’s Jarret House is coming along

Story was originally published in The Sylva Herald Jan. 22 edition.

Dillsboro historic hotel, Jarrett House is still in process of renovation, 22. Jan., 2025. Photo by Callie Addikis.

Dillsboro leaders heard an update on progress at the Jarrett House at its first town hall meeting of the year on Monday, Jan. 13.

New bathrooms at Monteith Park, snow removal, FEMA hurricane meetings and a sewer and water line were also on the agenda.

Whittier native and Smoky Mountain graduate Chris Ellsworth is determined to return the 23-room historic inn to its former glory.

The Jarrett family bought the inn from Dillsboro founder William Allen Dills, who built it in 1884 and named it Mount Beulah Hotel. Dills sold the hotel in 1894 to R.H. Jarrett & Sons of Franklin, and Frank Jarrett took over the management and renamed the establishment the Jarrett Springs Hotel. Ellsworth purchased the inn at auction in January 2021. After a sidewalk sale, Ellsworth continued a bidding war until his $300,000 won out. He had optimistically once expected a Jan. 1, 2023 opening, but that has been pushed back.

Smaller renovations have been underway, but work on the infrastructure within the house can officially begin.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Ellsworth’s work follows the National Park Service’s guidelines for preservation.

Ellsworth shared concerns about the sidewalk outside the Jarrett House, which slopes towards the house. The sidewalk is owned by the town and would cost approximately $30,000 to repair.

He also brought up a mysterious drainage problem.

“There is a set of stairs that comes into the courtyard where we had a hole with an 18-inch pipe that runs dead center up those stairs and continues across the property to the storm drain, it’s broken,” he said.

This terra cotta pipe that doesn’t have a clear start and might be contributing to the courtyard of the Jarrett House filling with water.

Ellsworth asked town leaders to approach the N.C. Department of Transportation about paving the gravel section of the road’s shoulder for parallel parking spaces.

The front porch of Coach’s will be enclosed and the restaurant will have capacity for about 90 people for weddings or other special events, he said.

An apartment above the restaurant will serve as a bridal suite for weddings.

A bakery is in the works in one of the shops on the property, he said.

“We won’t be baking in there, but we will be selling baked goods that will in the future be baked in the Jarrett House and we’ll just bring them over there,” he said.

Ellsworth has had positive talks with The Green Energy Park about moving their retail shop into another of the spaces, he said.

“I want the front of my hotel to be beautiful,” Ellsworth said. “I want it to be as beautiful as we can make it because it’s going to be a first impression.”

Monteith restrooms

In addition to sidewalks, the final inspection was completed, but not approved, for the bathrooms at Monteith Park.

New door handles and toilet seats have been ordered as the toilets did not originally come with a seat. It is an estimated $44,000 to complete the bathroom project which includes creating two handicap parking spots at the park, a requirement for approval. These renovations at Monteith Park are going to allow for more accessibility and convenience for park users.

After this recent heavy snow with lots of ice, snow removal has been planned for the budget for next year.

“Nobody knows what the weather’s going to do,” Mayor Tim Parris said.