Wendy James and the Kate Shepard House

With summer upon us, and traveling inevitable, I set out to find the most quaint, charming Bed and Breakfast in Mobile, Alabama. Not only did I find what I was looking for, but I found in my opinion a house that everyone should come visit at least once in their lifetime.

When you approach the Kate Shepard house, you are immediately transformed back to a different time. With it's ornate wood-work, soothing colors, and warm inviting porches, the house basically begs for you to come inside and take a look. It stands 3 stories high, and sits on the corner of a prominent historic neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama, a city that is really just now being fully discovered. Recently I was honored to sit down with the owner and Innkeeper of the Kate Shepard house, Mrs. Wendy James, and talk about what makes this house so delightful, different, and enchanting.

Wendy described to me how she, her husband Bill, and beloved dog, Koa, moved to Mobile after living in Hawaii for 15 years. When Wendy first told me this I have to tell you my first response was "Why???" I mean, Mobile is a great little city, but what would Mobile have to offer that Hawaii is lacking? Grand kids for one. Wendy explained to me that they wanted to move to the southeast again because all of their family lived all around the gulf-coast. They decided it would be fun to open a Bed and Breakfast, and after finding the Kate Shepard house on Google, they came to Mobile, saw it, and fell in love.

Wendy described that this beautiful home was built in 1897 by Mr. C. Shepard and designed by no other but George Franklin Barber. By looking at all the wood carving detail, large staircase, stained-glass windows, and built-in bookcases, you would never imagine that this house was actually picked out of a catalog. Wendy explained to me that back in the late 1800's, Barber had ads in the women's magazines and people could actually send a dollar to the address in the ad, and receive Barber's catalog. They could then literally search and pick out what home they wanted out of this catalog. She said that that is how the Shepard's picked out their house. Wendy told me that it is "rumored to have taken 13 railroad cars from Knoxville Tennessee," to get the components of the house to Mobile to be assembled.

One rare unique fact about the home is that while Bill and Wendy were searching through what they thought to be leftover junk from the previous 4 or 5 homeowners in the attic, they actually came across something quite interesting. Wendy told me that "Kate Sheperd, who lived in the house, never liked to throw anything away...and lucky for us, the previous owners thought all these boxes were just a bunch of 'stuff'. The most significant thing that we found were rare civil war papers that depict the purchase of war supplies for the Confederacy for the Civil War." She went on to explain that "Kate's brother, Colin McRea was sent to Europe by Jefferson Davis to manage the purchase of war supplies while living on German Street in Downtown London. He was kind of undercover and bought guns, booties, ammo etc. for the Confederacy." What makes this unique is that these are the only papers that prove that Europe was selling war supplies to the Confederacy. Since Kate Shepard kept all the documents of her family members, while these rich Europeans were destroying all of their proof that they were making money from the war they had previously criticized, these rare papers set in the attic of The Kate Shepard House for years until Wendy and Bill realized what they were. They have actually been dubbed the "King Tut's Tomb of the Civil War," or the "McRae's Papers" and including the papers that Kate kept of her family member's lives, ended up being thousands of documents. Most of these Civil War papers now sit at The Confederate Relic Room in Columbia, South Carolina.

I can honestly say that usually history is not my thing. But, when you sit in the beautiful library, with it's original fireplace, bookcases filled with antiques from the McRae family, surrounded by books from yesteryear, and overlooking a Steinway Concert Grand Piano circa 1888, there is something quite soothing about being surrounded by this history. Wendy said that she hears all the time that people feel like they are staying in a quite, relaxing museum, and are actually somehow becoming part of the history of the house, rather than just staying in a Bed and Breakfast.

When asked what makes this historical home different than other B&B's, Wendy replied that this is one of the only homes that has never been stripped. Through the 50 and 60's it was not "cool" to have the decor from the 19th century. So, most homes have at least some changes to the fireplaces, stairwells, stained-glass, and hard wood floors. The integrity in the architecture is one of the very reasons that inspired Wendy and Bill to buy this house compared to others.

This house sports an amazing 6 bedrooms, 9 fireplaces, and 4 in a half baths and 3 original Stain-glassed windows. It also has several of the original light fixtures throughout the home. Right now there are 3 bedrooms available for guests. There is one bedroom downstairs that Wendy said was inspired by a Mermaid Mast Head she bought while in Hawaii, that her first guest adorned with Mardi Gras beads that have stayed there for the past five years in the nautical themed room. The room is appropriately called the Mobile Bay Room. There are two rooms upstairs called Isabel's room and the Barber room. Wendy and Bill are currently designing a 4th bedroom that will be named the McRae room.

Wendy spent many years traveling the world with work before opening the Bed and Breakfast at The Kate Shepard House. She said that she uses her experience abroad to inspire touches that she thinks will help her guests feel at home. "Guests don't need the big TV in the bedroom, or the fliers from the locale BBQ place. What is most important is to have clean, luxurious, crisp linens, a great mattress, and limited clutter in the rooms, with a few frivolous touches." From personal experience I can assure you that she is correct. The "frivolous" touches that she is referring to include chocolates, bottle water, silky soap, and a list of local restaurants that guest may wish to visit. There are always either cookies, cakes or other baked goods awaiting you in the dinning room along with wine, port, and sherry for the liking. There is even a Flavia coffee machine for guests to help themselves to coffee and tea.

One of the touches that I personally find inviting is that you will not see that busy floral wallpaper all over all the walls at the Kate Shepard House that is prominent in most B&B's. Instead you will find soft beiges, whites, and neutrals, mixed with enough vibrant reds, and soft greens, to truly add a relaxing feeling to the rooms. Bill is an architect, and he and Wendy decorated the house themselves, trying especially hard to keep the feel of the old while adding a few "new" touches, like a flat screen TV for guests.

The breakfasts at the Kate Shepard house are second to none. Wendy said that her favorite two meals to make for guests are her Pecan Praline French Toast (which you HAVE to try!! It is SO good! ) and what Wendy calls Shepard Eggs, which are sausage and eggs inside of a croissant topped with a Dijon and dill sauce. Wendy's breakfasts have received fave reviews and people long and far have come just to taste her spectacular culinary creations.

Even if you hate history, Bed and Breakfasts, intricate wood detail, and the idea of strolling a historical city with huge Oak Trees just doesn't inspire you, I can insure you that you will still find a stay at the Kate Sheppard House to be a delight. If not just to meet Wendy and Bill and Koa. They are honestly some of the sweetest, most caring people I have ever met, that find it their joy to make people have the best experience they possibly can; I have honestly never met a more well-behaved, well-trained, cute dog, that you never hear bark. It is like staying with your own personal concierge that also happens to be your best friend. So, whether you have to come to Mobile for a business trip, or just stopping by on the way to another destination, or even if you live right down the street and are just looking for the most relaxing place to spend the night, you need to make the Kate Sheppard house your next destination. You will not be disappointed.

Make sure to check out http://www.Kateshepardhouse.com for more information.

Lydia Parker is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of her work here .