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The Governor’s Bed & Breakfast, built in the late 1700s, is a former plantation home, built by Revolutionary War veteran John Hazzard.
Shaded by silver maple and magnolia trees, the Virginia-style mansion once sat on a huge plantation, where its owners, including former Gov. David Hazzard, oversaw grain fields and mills.
Today, the restored inn is owned by Bill and Debbie Post and rests on just under two acres, set back from Milton’s Union Street.
But while many may be familiar with the home’s regal past, some may not know that during some chapters of its life, the elegant mansion was a haven for pornographers and for owners who sold off, for a song, the original 18th-century furniture and ornate fixtures.
In 1976, Post moved to Milton from Seaford and bought the neglected home. “We came here when nobody wanted Milton. Milton, at the time, was a shambles,” said Post, who in the 1980s served as the town’s mayor.
For two years, Post camped out in his mansion, sleeping under leaking roofs and traversing creaky boards. His parents, who encouraged him to buy a piece of Milton’s history, lived down the street, he said. It was at his parents’ home where he took showers and ate while he restored the plantation, which was eventually placed on the National Historic Register.
“They said it was the only way I could afford an old house here,” said Post. For five years, he stabilized the house, he said, performing the majority of repairs himself.
Weeks ago, Bill and Debbie tore up and replaced a wrap-around porch, tidying up and adding finishing touches as they prepare for their seventh season, offering rooms in one of the town’s few bed-and-breakfast inns.
With two guest rooms and a family suite, each room has its own private bathroom and entrance.
The historic home’s five working fireplaces and the governor’s restored library attract many repeat guests, Post said. Roughly 90 percent of the interior is original, including pine floors and paneled end-wallswith handcrafted-molding and floor-to-ceiling windows.
But, in the 1970s, when Post bought the mansion, it was far from elegant, he said. Red-flocked wallpaper adorned the walls of an upstairs bedroom that served as the set for reel-to-reel pornographic movies, he said.
“It was nothing to see naked girls running in the front yard a neighbor told me,” said Post. The movies, said Post, were sold in Europe, but a few reels were discarded and left behind after the owner fled the town.
Before Post took over, another former owner hauled all the original furniture on the front lawn and sold it off for next to nothing, he said.
Three original pieces made their way back to Post, including a dough box, a book from the governor’s law library and original interior shutters.
Today, the 4,000 square-foot inn, which can be found on Bed and Breakfast.com, features wallpaper in Williamsburg-inspired colors, an appropriate setting for Gov. Hazzard’s piano from the 1860s, while a crystal chandelier lights a room filled with antiques. Outdoors, guests can lounge on a porch swing, sometimes with their hosts.
“We give the guests as much privacy as they want,” Debbie said. “But we drink wine on the porch with them too,” Bill said.
When guests arrive, their menu choices are discussed with the couple, who live year-round off the kitchen, in an addition built in 1910.
“We cook breakfast according to individual tastes,” said Debbie. From quiche to frittatas and breakfast casseroles or yogurt, the pair shop and prepare meals for what Debbie calls a “personalized, intimate, retreat concept.”
“One big surprise is that we’ve had people from all over the world,” said Post. About 95 percent of referrals come from the internet, including guests from more than 12 countries. Locally, many repeat guests come from the Eastern seaboard, and it’s not uncommon for returnees to ask for specific rooms. Nearby, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge is an attraction for some, as seasonal visitors are gathering in larger numbers in Milton, attracted by history and ecotourism.
Some vacationers lodge at the Governor’s B & B and bike out to the state park, others come for special occasions. The innkeepers also offer space for small wedding receptions, baby showers and private affairs. The season, said Post, extends well into October.
Despite the time and expense of extensive, painstaking restoration, Post said his purchase more than three decades ago was well worth it.
The Governor’s Bed & Breakfast is located at 327 Union St. Open year-round, rooms rent from $95 to $135 per night. The Posts can also accommodate small groups in the family suite. For more information, call 302-684-4649, or go to www.BedandBreakfast.com.
Contact Kevin Spence at kevin-spence@hotmail.com
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