So what happened to the site? Think about it; it would make a heckofa landfill. Well, nature took its course, and in due time, the hole was filled with clear, green-hued spring water. Lo and behold, a beautiful lake was formed. It is located in a quiet, remote area surrounded by woodlands in which wildlife abounds, making the area a natural habitat for beaver, deer, turkeys and water fowl. It is 30 feet deep, and according to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, it is the largest body of water between Kentucky Lake and the Mississippi River. In the middle of the lake is a seven-acre island
Wow, thought friends Scott Green and Michael Harris, what an ideal location for a vacation lodge! Green is a Graves County farmer and Harris is a partner in Harris Auction Co.
“I had properties in Gulf Shores, Ala., and Gatlinburg, Tenn.,” Green said, “six hours and 10 hours away.”
Owning acreage with a huge lake closer to home appealed to the two friends and they purchased the 600-acre property on which they hoped to build a vacation lodge.
Word of their plans reached the ears of friends Sherry Elliott, Harris’ brother and co-business partner Kenneth and his wife Krystal, and Green’s companion Jill Tubbs, and the weekend getaway evolved into a more ambitious project. Why not make it a commercial venture and reserve 10 acres to site an 11,000 square-foot lodge, with porches and a gazebo overlooking the lake.
Scott and Jill set about designing the structure, which would be built from local materials.
“There is no sheetrock in the building,” Green said proudly. The lodge is built from cypress logs with pine pillars from Hickman County. The interior pine walls blend with stone from Russellville. The floors are Asian walnut, and porch railings are cedar. An antique mantle in a sitting area is made from elm from the Green family farm.
There are eight bedrooms in the lodge — four with private baths and four with two shared baths. Green’s friend and neighbor, Aaron Willet, crafted beds in six of the beds from locally grown hedge apple wood.
The tiled baths are luxuriously appointed with state of the art fixtures and granite countertops. The bedrooms are elegantly furnished as well, each decorated with different rustic themes.
In fact, “Rustic-elegant” would be a more appropriate description for the furnishings in the lodge, all selected by the female partners in the venture.
Entry through a covered portico leads to spacious and comfortable sitting areas with a 35-foot expanse of windows overlooking the lake. A seven-by-seven-foot chandelier, made of deer and elk antlers, hangs from the soaring cathedral ceiling.
The lodge is rented for wedding receptions, birthdays and anniversaries, family vacations, or reunions and corporate meetings — any event that calls for comfortable, luxurious accommodations. Guests may order a catering service or prepare their meals in the large well-equipped kitchen, which features commercial-grade appliances. The adjacent dining area seats 16.
Country lodges are favored for their get-away-from-it-all remoteness. So what do guests do for entertainment? Need you ask? The lake is stocked with catfish and bass and is large enough for boating and water sports.
As for hunting opportunities, “It’s not unusual to see as many as 80 deer,” said Michael Harris. A skeet shooting range is in the near future.
For indoor entertainment, there are several TVs, including those in the bedrooms, a pool table in the lower level, and upstairs is a quiet nook with shelves stocked with books. And for guests who simply cannot “get away from it all,” there is WiFi.
