LOUDONVILLE – Gwen Deierhoi and all her cousins have fond memories of the three-story Victorian house at 303 N. Water St. in Loudonville.
It was there that their grandfather, Mac, would restore his many music boxes and their grandmother, Rena, would work in her garden. The cousins would sit on the porch and snap peas or drink chocolate milkshakes. Sometimes 10 of them would crowd into a single third-floor bedroom for sleepovers.
“Really for all of us the memories in this house are so wonderful … There’s only pleasant things here,” Deierhoi said.
Mac and Rena Marken owned the house from 1948 until their deaths in 1978. The home was built for Philip James Black in 1856 and is listed on the National Registry of Historical Places.
In 1979, a man purchased the house and converted it into a bed-and-breakfast. Soon after, the place was bought by Al and Sue Gorisek, who ran the inn for many years.
Seeing that the house was back on the market last year, the Marken’s grandchildren went through the inn during a family reunion and found themselves reliving memories from childhood.
Deierhoi purchased the inn last August, enlisted the help of the approximately two dozen cousins to renovate the place. She renamed it Blackfork Marken Inn, in honor of Mac and Rena.
Updates include new flooring, a few new pieces of furniture, new air conditioning and a sprinkling of family photos. Another new feature is a memory garden with various items that represent family members who have passed away.
One of Deierhoi’s cousins, Dave Switzer, will be innkeeper, along with his wife, Tonya. The first guests will stay over next Friday.
The family invited the public to visit the inn Saturday for a ribbon cutting and open house. Many family members were present, including Howard Marken, the youngest of Mac and Rena’s eight children.
Blackfork Marken Inn features six guest rooms, each with its own private bath. For more information about the inn or to make a reservation, visit www.blackforkmarkeninn.com.
