Hodgson Mill’s new owners are experienced preservationists

Construction, painting and clearing have been priorities at Hodgson Mill since John and Gwen Deakle of Hattiesburg, Miss., assumed ownership in June.
Wayne Talburt, along with his sons Grant and Seth, are working for the new owners and have reroofed and painted the outbuildings adjacent to the mill. They also rebuilt the tiny log structure that has served as a store, post office and café in past years and renovated the interior of the cinderblock store building south of the mill to become an apartment for the new owners when they visit. The Deakles have also ordered clearing of the land on top of the bluff that overlooks the mill.
The couple declined to comment to the Ozark County Times, but Talburt explained the work in progress on the local site, and information about the Deakles' other restoration projects is available on Internet sites listed at the end of this article.
Perhaps most impressive, the Talburts have cleared an access from the mill pond along the spring branch to Bryant Creek. Visitors now can stroll the wide path while gazing at the rocky bluff and listening to the music of the spring's water as it flows toward the creek. A water-side picnic area is part of the future development plan.
The Deakles purchased the mill from Hank and Jean Macler. The Maclers, who bought the mill in 2001, restored the badly deteriorated main building and secured the mill's future by qualifying the Ozark landmark for the National Register of Historic Places.
John Deakle is the establishing partner in the law firm of Deakle-Couch Law Firm in Hattiesburg. The firm specializes in "consumer fraud issues, environmental litigation, products liability, and personal injury," according to its website. The couple owns homes in Hattiesburg and in Natchez.
The frustrations and joys of historic renovation are no strangers to John and Gwen Deakle. They are seasoned preservationists.
In 2001 the Deakles purchased a historic 19th-century plantation house in Gloucester, Miss., built in 1796 by Winthrop Sargent, the first territorial governor of Mississippi. The splendid old mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home's restoration was the subject of an article in the Summer 2007 edition of Early Homes magazine.
The Deakles have meticulously restored the home inside and out. Sticklers for detail, they commissioned handmade bricks to patch the original building material, refinished the heart-of-cypress flooring, replicated the home's original shutters from one discovered in the basement and furnished the home with period antiques.
One unusual facet of the plantation building is the moat that encircles the house on the front and two sides. The moat allows light to enter the basement windows and serves as a catch basin for rainwater that feeds a still-functioning underground water cistern system.
In 2005, the Deakles purchased the Cannon estate in Blowing Rock, N.C. The home was built in 1927 by J. W. Cannon, founder of the Cannon Mills textile industry. He named the rustic hideaway Miramichi, meaning "Happy Retreat."
Miramichi's western lodge design was chosen by the Cannons after a trip to Yellowstone National Park and an inspirational stay at the Yellowstone Inn. The 8,000-square-foot structure boasted copper gutters, natural bark siding, hand-hewn chestnut timbers, heart pine flooring, hand-forged hardware and a huge stone fireplace. Over the years the building had fallen into disrepair, and the Deakles launched a seven-month, intensive restoration that returned the mansion to its original prominence.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 damaged another home owned by the Deakles on Royal Street in the New Orleans French Quarter. The five-bedroom house is located next to Antoine's, the famed French-Creole restaurant. The third-floor wall of the eatery collapsed into the Deakles' courtyard.
Hodgson Mill's new owners are also active supporters of civic groups, including the University of Southern Mississippi Foundation's Circle of Champions, a non-profit organization committed to serving the university community by overseeing fundraising efforts to raise private support for academic and athletic needs of the university.
Sources: Deakle-Couch Law Firm (www.deaklelawfirm.com);
Blowing Rock, N.C. estate (www.mountainconstruction.com/article.php?table=article&article=20);
University of Southern Mississippi Foundation's Circle of Champions (www.usmfoundation.com/s/1149/index.aspx?sid=1149&gid=1&pgid=330&contentb...); Sargent House, Gloucester, Miss. (http://books.google.com/books?id=zTQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=John+a...); New Orleans home (www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050918/news_1n18katrina.html).