Save Ellerbe Springs Inn

Saving Ellerbe Springs Inn, Campground, and Spring House Restaurant from COVID-19

Mark and Donna Buckeridge always loved the RV life. They drove to annual family summer vacations in Michigan, across country and areas in the northeast, and they toured the southeast without the kids for their 25th anniversary. After a combined 55 years in property management, they decided they wanted to own and operate their own RV Park! With the kids grown, their dreams formed into a possibility. Though they looked in the north and Midwest, they learned of a unique property in Ellerbe, North Carolina. The campground had not been in operation for more than twenty years but the property included a hotel built circa 1890, an old dance hall, and the famous natural springs. Mark, Donna, and their dog Pebbles, immediately fell in love with the property and the town of Ellerbe, NC.

They purchased the property in 2013 and moved to the beautiful Sandhills of North Carolina. The inn required extensive renovations. The work was a labor of love for Donna and Mark and their family, friends, and neighbors who pitched in to restore the historic inn to its former glory. They filled the Inn with family furniture handed down through the generations, and with original artwork by Donna’s father and grandmother. On February 14, 2015, the inn was reopened with a ribbon cutting attended by elected officials and local dignitaries! Just before Christmas of that year, the Spring House opened as a family-friendly restaurant and pub and in 2017, they opened phase one of Camp Henning at Ellerbe Springs campground!

Ellerbe, North Carolina is a special place that has seen its fortunes change since the construction of a highway bypass that directed traffic away from the town. In the seven years since Donna and Mark moved to Ellerbe, they have become valued members of the community, joined the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce, and helped found the annual Ellerbe Strawberry Festival. Owning and operating the Inn, then a small restaurant, and finally the campgrounds, has not been easy—Mark and Donna have not taken a days’ vacation in 7 years. But operating the Inn and the restaurant have kept their dream of campground ownership alive!

All of our futures have now changed with the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. With necessary and responsible social distancing, and the State’s stay at home order; the Inn has had to temporarily close, the campground has little traffic and the restaurant is limited to a small carryout business. The comfortable family restaurant where locals would enjoy a casual dinner, a beverage, and chat with their neighbors, is crippled.  Donna and Mark have had to lay-off staff as their business has dwindled to a handful of loyal regulars. They are doing what they can to apply for State and Federal stimulus but any such relief will fall far short of the amount needed to cover the losses caused by the pandemic.

Mark and Donna have poured their hearts, souls, and their life savings into the Inn and the Town of Ellerbe. They really need your help now. Please help us raise the necessary funds to keep the Ellerbe Springs Inn Spring House Restaurant and Campground afloat while we together weather this storm.  Any donation will be greatly appreciated.