About & History

The 1901 Historical home was purchased in August 2005 by Doug and Lela Byfield. We arrived in Rusk a city in the heart of East Texas, looking for a special kind of place. It was a long hard process and as soon as we closed on the old house the storms Katrina, and Rita came through and turned things upside down. Boy, that was crazy. But, we trek on! Our family has pitched in tremendously to help bring this old house back to life. We are family operated. The bank still owns it!

Grace Manor, formerly the Guinn House, is a work in progress. We wanted to take something special and bring it back to life. As my friend would say, “Make it sit up and sing”. Friends are so important!

Old houses are so rare and they have a lot of History. I did not always think this way. It took a special person coming into my life to wake me up to how special old homes are.

Our Mission is to supply an affordable alternative to large and expensive weddings. We want to provide a simple and elegant setting for less.

We specialize in small and intimate weddings for up to 100 guests. Our facility supplies the ceremony chairs, tables w/chairs, white table cloths, centerpieces, registration and gift tables, cake tables, cutlery set for cake and champagne toasting set for bride and groom, free parking and set up and clean up.

Lela has been in the wedding industry for 20+ years and has worked approximately 1800+ weddings and receptions over the years. After 14 years of owning a Chimney Sweeping business, Doug retired and has become a Master at Restoring the Mansion and keeping up the grounds.

History of Grace Manor

Grace Manor, formerly known as The Guinn Home was built circa 1901, for Judge Frank Benton Guinn. The third son of Robert Henry Guinn, who moved to Rusk in 1847 from Tennessee. A lawyer by profession and a horticulturist by avocation, Judge Guinn was an avid promoter of peach and tomato industries in Cherokee County. After serving terms as county attorney and county judge, Judge Guinn was elected to the state legislature. Among other accomplishments, he introduced the fruit and inspection bill, helped secure and amendment legalizing juror’s fees and led the state in the adoption of a uniform system of textbooks.

Grace Manor
305 Guinn Place
Rusk, Texas 75785
Directions

Call us at 281-703-0039

Email: GraceManors@aol.com

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