History
Matkin Farm Inn’s history began in 1820, when Hiram and Charity Matkin traveled from South Carolina, through Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky and settled in what is now the Doe Run area of Missouri.
While traveling on business to St. Louis, Hiram and his oldest daughter, Artemesia, met a young man named Calvin Gideon who was headed for the gold fields of California. He later returned via the isthmus of Panama with his gold booty sewn inside his clothing, and traveled back up the Mississippi River. There he rejoined the Matkin Family and married Artemesia.
Artemesia’s grandson, Benton Gideon, built his home on the property in 1928. This home now serves as Matkin Farm Inn and is the residence of its current proprietors.
Matkin Farm Inn underwent a complete renovation in 2008. Previously having only one bathroom, it now boasts six. The home also underwent a complete electrical update as it was previously only wired for a home generator system. This was before the days of the, “Rural Electric Cooperative,” which ran electricity to the farms and country homes. Formerly heated by a wood furnace in the basement, the home now has central heat & air and each guest room has a private bath.
The current owners are the sixth generation of Hiram Matkin’s descendants living on the property. And though much of the original farmland has been sold off over the decades, the original homestead site remains. Two giant spruce trees, which were planted when the Inn was built, have survived the drought of the thirties and create an anchor for the setting and the landscape.
