Mavis Manor

Substainablity

is only worth it if there is something to substain.
Life
When we REJUVENATE our PAST,

we REVITALIZE our PRESENT
Preservation
It's in our GARDENS

where we begin to understand NATURE.
Food
As NATURE as your Teacher

You will learn Thrift, Patience, Assiduity, and Trust
Education

Permaculture Farm Educational Lab

Our Mission is to encourage local food production and ecological awareness through hands-on permaculture and homesteading education.

Morning Mountain Chat Podcast

About Us

Sir Justyn J Marchese

Inn Keeper / Permaculturalist

Lisa J Furman

Animals Husbandry / Creative Director

Sylvia Smackers

Company Pigsident

Our Story

Mavis Manor is an Queen Anne Victorian Country Manor situated on a 33 acres nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Located in the small hamlet of Flat Top, WV, a small town that is also home of Winterplace Ski Resort. We specialize in Farm to Fork localness. What we doesn’t grow on ground we take every possible stride to purchase locally.

Mavis Manor : We are an environmental education organization starting a farm and permaculture farm education program. Currently, we have our first lab Mavis Farmacy. It's an 1 acres of land to do micro experiment. Our growing sustainable farming practics include our flock of 70+ happy chickens, Ducks, Guineas, Bunnies, and the locally famous Sylvia Smackers. (She’s a pig! But shh… I’m not sure she knows that yet) On the grounds we focus mainly on permaculture, like our fruit forest, but also include traditional gardening styles as well.

To Date, we've planted over 5000 trees, Join us. You Donate, We Plant, the world becomes a little cleaner & greener

History

The Manor's History

Mavis Manor was built in approximately 1897 for the Lilly Family. The manor was used by Dr. L.L. Lilly as a hospital designed to keep overnight patients. Mavis Manor was constructed of most Chestnut and Oak timbered in nearby Summers County, milled in Hinton, West Virginia then transported by horse drawn wagon via the Grayson-Raleigh-Wythe turnpike. The inspiration for the manor came after Miss Sue Tickle visited Bramwell, West Virginia.

Probably the most pretentious Lilly home was built by Dr. Lonnie Lilly at the Flat Top Post Office and on the Mercer County line very much on the inspiration of his wife, a Miss Sue Tickle, who was said to be from the Bluefield area. She first married a McCormack, who was killed in an accident shortly after their marriage (in a buggy accident) and she then married Dr. Lonnie Lilly and she operated a millinery shop Dunns and there she drew her plans for their home which they built at Flat Top containing twelve rooms with two long halls extending the length of the house and containing also ten closets and seven fireplaces. The right side of the house had an entrance to Dr. Lilly's office for his patients’ entry and in his office he had a trap door with shelves that lowered to the basement to keep his medical supplies in days before refrigeration so that the medicine could be stored in the cooler level when it was not being used. The house was built in approximately 1897 and was designed to keep overnight patients who traveled long distance for treatment. Cost of building was $5,000.