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Gene Dalton | The Roanoke Times

See more photos of the Huffman House's owners and animals in a slideshow. (opens in a new window)

Surrounded by rural farmlands, long-closed stores and two-lane highways, The Huffman House stands as a living time capsule, full of folklore, Americana and historic relics.

It operates today as a bed-and-breakfast, but over the years, it has served as an informal school, a boarding house for travelers and a family home where three generations were born and raised.

The house was built in 1835 by John Easley. At the time, the house only included two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. According to the house's oral history, Easley taught students in the house.

The home was owned by Dr. John Taylor during the Civil War and later was purchased by Marion Huffman in the late 1800s. His son, Anah Huffman, added a dining room and kitchen to the home in 1906. The third generation of the Huffman family, Fulton Huffman and his wife, Virginia, owned the home until 2003.

A store that sits in front of the house offered a rest stop for travelers along the road that is now Virginia 42.

"The store was a gathering place for traveling salesmen and cattlemen," said Carol Baker, who owns the bed-and-breakfast with her husband, Ron. "The family would put them up and feed them."

Ron and Carol Baker were travelers themselves when they began looking for a place to open a bed-and-breakfast. They through-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1999, after Ron Baker retired from the petrochemical industry in Houston.

They focused their search on Vermont and Virginia, where they found the scenery particularly breathtaking.

"This is equally beautiful [as Vermont], but we don't have the hard winters," Carol Baker said.

When they made the decision to come to Craig County, where the Appalachian Trail crosses Virginia 42, the Huffman House was not for sale. But it did go on the market in 2003 -- with a major caveat for any prospective buyer. The home came with a life estate, meaning Fulton and Virginia Huffman would be allowed to remain living there until they died. Fulton Huffman was 94 years old at the time.

The Bakers loved the building and decided it was a small price to pay. They lived in a small log cabin up the road, and Ron Baker began to work on the farm. They also spent time getting to know the Huffmans and learning the history of the house.

Shortly after their 70th wedding anniversary in 2004, Fulton Huffman became ill. He died that September, and his wife followed 12 days later.

"It was really sad," Carol Baker said. "We had gotten to know them and love them."

The Bakers then began the massive task of transforming the home into a bed-and-breakfast with the help of restoration specialist Mike Hedlesky and historical architect Lisa Tucker.

The two original downstairs rooms were turned into parlors at the front of the house, one on each side of the foyer. One parlor features a fireplace that was original to the house, along with the modern amenities of television and leather couches.

The dining room added by Anah Huffman is still used as a dining room, where Carol Baker serves her guests a homemade breakfast of pastries, fruit, coffee, bacon or sausage and a hot dish such as French toast or eggs. The kitchen built by Anah Huffman is now used as a small office for the Bakers.

The Bakers added a large, modern kitchen, at the rear of the house, along with a laundry room and mudroom.

Upstairs, four guest bedrooms bear the names of previous owners of the house -- Taylor, Easley, Williams and Huffman. The bedrooms can sleep a total of 14 guests.

The Taylor Room includes a king-sized bed plus a daybed with a trundle. The walls are painted a light blue that is similar to an original paint color.

The Easley Room includes two queen-sized beds plus a daybed with trundle. The woodwork is painted a bright green that is an original color to the house.

Both the Taylor and the Easley rooms, which were part of the original 1835 construction, have bathrooms attached. They were carved out of space that once slept the black drivers of travelers who stayed with the Huffmans.

Down a hallway that also was once an outside porch are the Williams and Huffman rooms. They each have a queen-sized bed. Those rooms share a common bathroom.

The bedrooms feature antique furniture, some that Carol Baker had in her collection and some that she purchased for the inn. The mattresses and bedding are not antique, however. The Bakers bought new mattresses and adorned them with quilts in floral prints and patchwork patterns.

At the back of the house, above the new kitchen, is the bedroom, office and bathroom where the owners retreat each night. From their bedroom windows, they have a view of the barns and chicken houses where they keep three Haflinger horses, Angus cows, hair sheep, llamas, Indian runner ducks, turkeys, chickens and geese.

Sinking Creek also passes through the property. The creek is especially deep in one spot, and an area church has performed baptisms there in the past. The Bakers have agreed to let the tradition continue, although the church has not made the request since they've been there. In the meantime, it makes a perfect swimming hole when their grandchildren visit.

Throughout the house, original doors and hardware were preserved. Hedlesky made doors for new bathrooms to match the originals, and also crafted several cabinets throughout the house from 1830s wood -- some of it from the house itself.

Tucker, the architect, was instrumental in getting the house designated as a Virginia Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Huffman House is also a member of the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia.

The Bakers opened their doors to guests in May, and fittingly, the first guests came right from the pages of the home's history.

Frances Reynolds Winn, the 91-year-old granddaughter of Marion Huffman, came for a visit from her home in Knoxville, Tenn. Her daughters accompanied her, and they also spent time with Joe Huffman, brother of Fulton, and his wife, Beulah.

Carol Baker said Winn and her daughters shared the Easley Room and enjoyed seeing the house in its restored state.

Since then, the bed-and-breakfast has been busy with guests for the Virginia Tech graduation and football games, as well as other visitors to the area.

In the future, the Bakers have big ideas for reopening the former store as a gallery for local artisans, a museum showcasing the house's history, an ice cream parlor, or as a bunk for hikers on the Appalachian Trail, which crosses Virginia 42 just a half-mile from the inn.

In the meantime, the Bakers -- still relative newcomers to Southwest Virginia themselves -- are enjoying the chance to get to know local residents and make visitors feel at home in the area.

"The people here are so friendly," Carol Baker said. "They've really taken us in."

The Huffman House is at 16 Old Huffman Store Road in Craig County. Contact staff at 544-6942 or through thehuffmanhousebandb.com. Room rates are $105 to $145.