The Grey Swan Inn has its beginnings as a home for the Douglas Longstreet Tuggle family, a tobacco merchant. Built in 1902, it was a home and gathering place drawing guests from Virginia, New York, Boston, Atlanta, and the capitals of Europe.
The Tuggle family sold the home in the 1980’s where renovations began transforming this home into an inn.Jim and Christine Hasbrouck happened to find this inn listed for sale on the internet. In the summer of 2007, Jim took a trip from Baltimore to visit Blackstone and the property and the following weekend Christine returned with him. It was the perfect place for them to begin living their dream as innkeepers.
With 12 foot ceiling, original Southern “yellow pine” and maple hardwood floors, French doors, English wainscoting, large rooms, and a wrap-around porch, they felt that this house could become their home and a gathering place again for people near and far. So on September 1, 2007, the Hasbrouck’s re-opened The Grey Swan Inn Bed and Breakfast and welcomed their first guests.
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A bit about the Hasbrouck's
Jim graduated from Washington State University and joined the Peace Corps. After 2 years in the Marshall Islands, he worked briefly at a lumber mill in Oregon before getting a position at Wolf Creek Job Corps Center in Glide, OR. That transitioned into a Human Resource position with the USDA Forest Service which Jim made into a 34 year career. The Forest Service took Jim from Oregon to West Virginia (where he met Christine), then to Arkansas, Georgia, and finally Washington, DC.
Christine was raised in West Virginia and had lived in Alabama and Georgia prior to meeting Jim. Her work skills have been primarily in medical administration. She brings her skills in organization, community involvement, problem-solving, and networking to The Grey Swan. Christine loves to bake, read, and entertain which transfers beautifully to innkeeping, as well.
Jim and Christine have five children between them and share their ten grandchildren. Resident dog, Chelsea, and two cats, Smokie and Slinky, are their current children since their own children are scattered across the US. Both are active in Blackstone, Virginia volunteering in community organizations and community theater. Pick up The Courier-Record, Blackstone’s weekly newspaper, and you may see one or both mentioned. Jim and Christine Hasbrouck Your Innkeepers |
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"Once again coming here is like coming home again. Hospitality shines through everything you both do to make your guests stay the best! Thanks again!" N & K.R., Richmond VA
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, January 18, 2012) |