Family saves historic building in Huntingdon; open now as event center

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — After years of falling apart and standing vacant, one family decided to save a historic building in the heart of Huntingdon.

The building reopened Saturday as an event center, but it’s the memories that lie within the walls that make it special.

“Along with the lines we had today, also came a lot of stories,” said Adam Crews, one of the owners of the center.

The building has been home to a number a businesses throughout the years, but many remember it as a popular tea-house in the 1950’s.

“We just wanted to make sure the building wasn’t going to be torn down,” Crews said.

Crews and his family decided to save the 107 year old building, and modeled the event center after after the old tea house.

But for many, the building is more than just a new event center, and brings back memories of what Huntingdon was like over the years.

“We came in at 6 o’clock in the morning,  we made the coffee and got everything ready,” remembers Brooke Hodges,  who worked as a waitress in the tea house in 1961.

“We had a cook who started off with breakfast, and we served breakfast lunch and dinner.”

Growing up, Hodges remembers the struggles facing downtown Huntingdon.

“We almost lost our town, as many small towns do,” she said. “But now, it is a great bedroom community to larger cities.”

Huntingdon mayor Dale Kelley said they’ve been working to revitalize downtown Huntingdon,  and this is one of the last pieces of the puzzle.

“The Crews family saw an opportunity to do something for their hometown, and it’s paid off for everybody,” he said.

The Colonial Tea Room Event Center is the oldest brick building on Huntingdon’s court square.

The crews family remodeled some of it, but tried to keep a lot of the building the same.

The  new event center will host weddings, receptions, baby showers and other special occasions.