Gen. Elisha M. Boyd would not be disappointed if he returned today to the redbrick Federalhouse he built in 1839, especially if he arrived during one of Edgewood Manor’s occasional Civil War cavalry reenactments. In the house, once temporary headquarters for Gen. Stonewall Jackson, he’d find an 1860 Austrian pianoforte, authentic Civil War paraphernalia, and a cabinet filled with American history books.
Sharon and John Feldt, she a teacher and he a lawyer, stumbled onto the vacant house while traveling to battle sites from Texas. They bought it on the spot in 1995, because it wasjust what Sharon and her mother, Birdie Lamkin, had en-visioned for their inn. A gravel drive points to the white columned portico and house on 52 acres. Nearby, a fertile spring spews daily more than 4 million gallons of fresh water, supplying all of Berkeley County. Sharon’s tasteful hand has touched each immense room, most with four-poster bed, simple lace cur-tains, and Oriental rugs. The Texas Room features the yellow rose, and the Gen. James Pettigrew room, like the rest of the house, carries a Civil War theme, with framed battle scenes and soldier paraphernalia.
Sharon’s creative breakfasts of fresh breads, casseroles, and fruit dishes; afternoon teas; and murder mystery weekends have summoned guests both local and a far.
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