The living room at the Hodge Podge Lodge is surrounded by knickknacks and antiques, but the house—decorated with family pictures and other sentimental items belonging to owners John Baxendale and Nicola Weems—is not their peråsonal home.
Hodge Podge Lodge is a Montgomery event venue and bed and breakfast nestled in the historic Melrose House, which was built in 1834 for Richard S. Willis—a merchant and landowner who helped establish the city of Willis.
Baxendale has more than 30 years’ experience in real estate and management, and Weems has a background in event coordinating. The estate had been abandoned for a year before the couple purchased Melrose House in October 2012.
“This was nothing but brush and dirt when we first got here,” Baxendale said. “There wasn’t even grass.”
Today the venue hosts about 45 weddings per year and handles everything from decorations and linens to cleanup. The lodge does not provide food and beverage services, but the couple offers a preapproved list of caterers who understand the special practices needed to work in a historic house.
“Originally, I wanted to do craft parties and art gatherings,” Weems said. “But the moment we opened we were overrun with requests for weddings, so I said, ‘I guess we are in the wedding business.’”
Weems said her goal was to preserve as much of the house as possible. The library, parlor and upstairs area are original to the house, and the couple was able to preserve the original hardwood flooring and lion-footed bathtub in the downstairs bathroom.
The property also has a cottage named Giddy’s Cottage in memory of Weems’ grandmother. The building was originally used as a dorm room on the Sam Houston State University campus, Baxendale said.
Baxendale and Weems added personal details, such as old family pictures in the stairwell, to help visitors relax in a homestyle atmosphere. The guest rooms are furnished with home decor collected from friends, family and local antique shops.
Baxendale said the modernized kitchen has become a popular gathering area for guests, who often buy wine and sweets from local shops.
“We are not a company or a hotel,” Baxendale said. “Far from it. People see that, [and] they are more relaxed when they come over.”
300 Prarie St., Montgomery 936-228-9290 www.hodgepodge-lodge.com Hours: Mon.-Sat., visits by appointment only
