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According to family lore, the brothers feuded for a time as the finishing touches were being added - one brother took the crew and the plans, and constructed a scaled-down version of the house across town. The feud was eventually resolved and the family tradition of large, festive gatherings continued. There are local residents who can still remember the grand socials that made vivid, lasting impressions on their youthful spirits. Lawn parties were particularly renowned.
For many years there was a large fish pond fed by a fountain on the grounds. A humorous chapter in the annals of the mansion and the family traces the major events through the years by who fell - or took a dip-into-the-fish pond-when.. Over the years, many a school child found a reason to detour in the vicinity of that magical setting.
The residence was converted to a hotel in the 40's and purchased by the current owners in 2006. The Living Light Inn (formerly the Colonial Inn) is the oldest continuously operating inn in Fort Bragg. In its lifetime it has hosted many distinguished guests including a former American President, several diplomats, artists, writers and musicians and a number of world-famous athletes, as well as visitors from every continent and throughout the U.S. It has been featured in several publications on historic architecture and inns, and many visitors and guests are drawn by advance word of its beautiful and unique features.
Over the Independence Day holiday in 2000, the Inn hosted the family reunion of the descendents of its first occupants.
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