BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— A Lake Region couple held a grand opening for the city’s only public lodging facility.
Brad and Kerry Collins greeted guests at the Inn at Palmetto, located across Southeast Palmetto Avenue from the city’s public tennis courts behind city hall.
The three-bedroom, two-story structure was initially completed in 1925, the same year Keystone Heights was incorporated.
It was intended to be a winter home for Leona Clark Caughey, although she never occupied the house.
“Leona was an artist who worked for the Keystone View Company in Meadville, Pennsylvania,” wrote Collins on the inn’s website: www.TheInnAtPalmetto.com.
“Leona, along with her husband Ed, a part owner of the Keystone Lumber Company, lived in a home two blocks to the west on Lake Keystone. Upon completed construction of the house, her sister Maude and husband Ward Ogden along with their two daughters Arneita and Helen moved into the home.”
The inn features a wrap-around porch, original wood supplied by the Keystone Lumber Company and three bedrooms: the Queen’s Room, the Palmetto Room and the Admiral’s Quarters.
Kerry Collins said she saw the home for sale several years ago when visiting for the Fourth-of-July holiday.
“I’ve always loved this property,” she said. “Drove by when I was in high school because I love this park and that tree across the street.”
Collins added that she was a frequent patron of the library across the street from the Caughey home, recalling that while growing up, she read all the Nancy Drew mysteries at the library.
Collins added that converting the house into an inn was a long-term project because her husband is on active duty with the Navy, and the contractor the couple hired was also on active duty.
Brad Collins is a rear admiral in the Navy and is currently the commander of Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central and commander of Maritime Air Forces, Naples. He is stationed in Naples, Italy.
Kerry is a Keystone Heights Heritage Commission member and sits on the city’s growth management committee.
She also organizes the Freedom 5K for the Jordan Cooper Memorial Scholarship Fund.
The fund provides scholarships to Keystone Heights High School graduating seniors.
