Heller House Inn is a home built in 1845 and is currently a Bed and Breakfast owned and operated by Darren and Pam Tisdale. Darren and Pam both grew up in Kingstree, where they have raised a family and worked all their lives. Darren is currently the owner and operator of Williamsburg Lawn Care Services and also serves as the Mayor of Kingstree. After retiring from the family trucking business after 25 years, Pam opened up the bed and breakfast in 2017 as not only a place for lodging, but a place for guests to feel at home where they can rest and find peace. The beautifully decorated inn includes a reading room, sitting room, front porch, multiple guest rooms, plus more, and is within walking distance to Main Street.
Darren and Pam first overlooked the house as an option. “We had been looking for a larger house for a while when our realtor suggested the Heller House, but when we first looked at it, it was too much property and too much house for us, so we marked it off our list,” shares Pam. As time went on, their realtor suggested the property a second time. Pam and Darren then met with the current owners. “We sat down with them and listened to them tell us about how special this house was to them,” explains Pam. “Mr. and Mrs. Arnett told us that it really wasn’t the money that was important, but that someone take this place, love it back to life and esteem it as it should be.” The house seemed to be the right fit at the time, and with much prayer, the Tisdales purchased the home in October of 2010. “It was like buying a piece of history,” says Pam.
The house is on the National Registry of Historic places. The Heller House is named after the owners, Mr. and Mrs. MF Heller, who bought the property in 1890. After their purchase of the house, they started an extensive renovation which included adding an upstairs, pressed tin ceilings, and gas overhead lighting, which was the first of its kind in Kingstree. In 1910 the Baptist Church located across the street was replacing its original wooden structured sanctuary. It is said that Mr. Heller instructed the builders to bring the sanctuary across the street and he had it attached as a dining room. It still serves as a beautiful formal dining room today. The house was the first in the town to have overhead lighting, and it still obtains four of its original fixtures. At present, the main house is 4,800 sq. ft. and is the oldest home in town on its original foundation.
After many years of opening their doors to entertain and host friends and family, Pam and Darren decided to share their beautiful historic home with friends they had not met yet. “We have always entertained and had friends and family stay with us, but in 2016 the Lord started laying it in my heart that it was time to retire and open this home to the community and allow its history and its special story’s to be told,” shares Pam. In June of 2017 Pam left her job of 25 years and began the journey to open the Heller House as a Bed and Breakfast. The doors officially opened in November of 2017. The Tisdales have been overwhelmed at the great response from the community and how business has been thus far. “We have met so many wonderful people who were coming to Kingstree and needed a place to stay either for family or business purposes. It has truly been a delight to meet so many wonderful people and to be able to share the beautiful history of this old Lady and the history of our town,” explains Pam. “The town of Kingstree is such a special place with so much rich history that so many know little about. But as many as will listen, I will tell about the beauty of our little sleepy town and the piece of history they are sure to enjoy in the Heller House Inn.”
