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The Willcox hotel is a hotel established in Aiken, South Carolina in 1900 by Englishman Frederick Willcox, his Swedish wife Elise Wellborn, and their two sons, Frederick and Albert. ==History== Frederick came to Aiken in the late 1890. He had been a "courier" in Europe (a term then used for someone who planned and conducted worldwide tours). The family built a house on the northwest corner of Chesterfield Street and Colleton Avenue and established a catering company in their home. Elise soon became renowned for her preparation of fine foods and the business was heavily patronized by Aiken “Winter Colony” families, fabulously wealthy founders and heirs to the fortunes made during the American Industrial Revolution. ;Highland Park Hotel fire At about this same time, in 1898, the first Highland Park Hotel burned. It had been a notable structure that housed many winter colonists who had not yet built a “cottage” in Aiken. (A mansion in any other sense, Winter Colony “cottages” were the second or third homes of families who had great estates on Long Island, Park Avenue in Manhattan and other wealthy enclaves in the Eastern United States. On the loss of the hotel, Mrs. Thomas (Louise) Hitchcock persuaded the Willcoxes to open their home as a center for social activities in Aiken. When they retired, their son Albert (Bert) Willcox managed the inn and continued its expansion by adding the left wing and second and third floors and the current lobby, until it occupied the entire block on Colleton. Albert died in 1954 and the entire family is buried in St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church cemetery a few blocks away from the hotel. ;World War II With World War II travel restrictions in the early 1940s, The Willcox fell on hard times and closed in the early 1950s. It was sold at auction in 1957 and remained boarded until its renovation and reopening in 1985. In a history of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church by Mac McClearen and Owen Sheetz, it is written, “The famous old Willcox Inn drew its guest list from diplomats, society leaders, visiting European royalty, wealthy sportsmen and members of the entertainment world. The Winston Churchills visited; Count and Countess Bernadotte of Sweden spent their honeymoon at the Willcox, John Jacob Astor, Evelyn Walsh McLean (owner of the Hope diamond), makeup queen Elizabeth Arden, singer Andy Williams, dancer Irene Castle, Doris Duke, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bing Crosby – all came to the Willcox to enjoy the leisurely life that Aiken had to offer. “ The Willcox has become one of South Carolina's most luxurious small hotels. The white-pillared beauty with 22 lavishly appointed rooms, replete with fireplaces and antiques from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is the unofficial headquarters of the horse set during any of Aiken's annual events. Stop by for afternoon tea in the parlor for an insider's glimpse of the equestrian life. This completely refurbished hotel once again serves the community as a center of family and social life. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Willcox」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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