Take a stroll around Clevedale’s four acres filled with a variety of plants, native and adapted trees, shrubs, wildflowers, perennials, and colorful annuals. In 2013, Clevedale reportedly had the largest variety of Magnolias on any one property in the Carolinas. Start your stroll in Conrad’s English Knot Garden featuring English Boxwoods in a labyrinthine pattern filled with bearded irises, swamp lilies, and other perennials. A natural shade canopy of old Crepe Myrtles in the English Courtyard is the perfect summer spot for checking out several hybrid orchids nestled into tree trunks. The Ivy and Jasmine Arbor and Friendship Garden may cast a spell on you with its fragrant Confederate Jasmine, Banana Magnolias, and Tea Olives. Hollies, Japanese Maples and Deodar Cedars create a tropical paradise at Clevedale’s Roman Bath. And round out your garden tour by darting into the Greenhouse with Creeping Fig and many tropical flora for an indoor display with the feel of the outdoors. With each visit, you will discover something new.

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The Wren is big on style and versatile as it features twin accommodations which quickly can be converted into a king suite. Named for the official bird of South Carolina, the Wren also has special significance as it is the name of the architect Sir Christopher Wren, of the chapel on the campus of the innkeeper’s alma mater, Westminster College in Fulton Missouri. It features an ensuite bath, gas fireplace, and roof top porch access overlooking the side gardens.

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Clevedale, once a thriving 440 acre farm, was first named in the latter 19th century by Jesse Franklin Cleveland. He was a descendant of the Cleveland family that traces its roots to a tract of land in North Riding of Yorkshire, England which produced such notables as Moses Cleaveland, the founder of Cleveland, Ohio, and Steven Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. The original dwelling, facing South, was built in the 1790s. Shortly before World War I in 1913, the current structure was razed as a wedding gift for Conrad Cleveland, Sr. and his wife, Louise. As the story goes, Louise disliked country living so much that a home in downtown Spartanburg was built and Clevedale became their vacation property. Louise and Conrad had two children, Conrad Jr. and Elisabeth.

The current homestead, of colonial design, is accented by stately pillars on the front portico. The outbuildings, especially the greenhouses, reflect the interest of Conrad Cleveland, Jr., who, among a variety of artistic avocational pursuits, was an avid horticulturist. Conrad, Jr., claimed Clevedale as his home from the mid-1940s until his death in 1985, after which the property was sold to the developer of Hawk Creek and later businessman Hugh Brown took ownership.

In January 2012, Clevedale was purchased by Pontheolla Mack Abernathy and Paul Roberts Abernathy. Pontheolla, a native of South Carolina, had a desire to own and operate a bed and breakfast since her collegiate days at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. That dream, shared by her husband, Paul, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, has come to fulfillment in Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens. "The property had good bones thus renovating this Southern lady would be my pleasure," stated Pontheolla. The renovations took a year and half. Upon wrapping up renovations, the Abernathys got a visit from Elisabeth Cleveland Welch. "I wanted to come see my birthplace. On the night I was born, the train nearby broke down and my dad walked to the train to invite passengers into this house for tea," she recounted. Elisabeth died shortly thereafter, however the story told was filed in the back of Pontheolla's mind. Seven years after owning Clevedale, Pontheolla and Paul added a 1947 Southern Railway caboose to the property in keeping with Elisabeth's story and Spartanburg's Hub City history.

Clevedale is situated a half mile from Warren H. Abernathy Boulevard, named for the state director for the late James Strom Thurmond, the long-serving United States Senator for South Carolina. Though bearing no relation, Pontheolla and Paul feel this fortuitous coincidence harbors an especial blessing on their venture.

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