1866 . . .
Sarah McKee Sharpe understood the importance of gracious hospitality in the South. On the McKee plantation, she was accustomed to long visits from family and friends to their home. Distances were great, transportation slow. You didn't come visit for a couple hours, you stayed for days or even weeks. The same was true after the Civil War as her family moved into town. Statesville's role as the county seat meant long quarterly meetings of the court which provided government and dispensed justice for the residents of Iredell County. Family and friends could count on the Sharpe household to provide room, board and the latest news. To turn them away would have been unthinkable.
. . . 2010
Have you ever noticed that unexpected visitors come when your house is completely torn apart? The house was a small disaster yesterday morning when I got a call from Dave Ibach, editor of the Statesville Record & Landmark. They wanted to do a story for the newspaper on the reopening of the house. Wonderful! When? Today and we're sending a photographer. (Gulp!) So with a whirlwind slap-dash effort at clearing or camouflaging the chaos at the house, I met with reporter Jim McNally and photographer Bruce Matlock in the afternoon. Although I knew the house was "presentable", you wonder how someone else perceives it when they view it for the first time. The results of their visit made the front page of today's Record & Landmark. Gentlemen, thank you all for your gracious attention to this grand old house. Our doors will always be open to you. Sarah would have expected nothing less.
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