Camp Point couple to open new inn in historic building

CAMP POINT, Ill. (WGEM) -You’ll soon have a new place to stay overnight in the Tri-states.

An Adams County couple plans to open a new inn, while preserving a piece of their community’s past.

Ted and Sara Lung have spent almost their entire lives in Camp Point. They plan to open The Bricktown Inn next month.

Their goal is to provide a community need while paying tribute to Camp Point’s past and economic future. There’s no place like home, or Camp Point, for Sara and Ted Lung.

“We grew up here, and we’ve raised our children here, too,” Sara Lung said.

One of the reasons behind that decision spans back centuries.

“My great, great, great grandfather, William Barlow, was one of the founding fathers of Camp Point,” Sara Lung said. “Actually, my great, great, great grandfather moved here in 1843. The town was started in 1855.”

The historic building, located across the street from the historic Bailey’s Opera House, also owned by the Lung’s, was built in 1897.

The Lung’s have spent months renovating it with plans to open Camp Point’s first hotel in more than 100 years.

“We decided to repurpose the building, because we were looking for kind of a niche that could really fit well in Camp Point,” Ted Lung said. “We realized between Mount Sterling and Quincy, there really wasn’t a facility for people to have an overnight stay. So that’s when we created it.”

The couple says Camp Point’s newly opened businesses, including two wedding venues, have created a need for an overnight place to stay.

“After the weddings are over, it’s just such a nice option to be able to stay local instead of having to drive into Quincy or Mount Sterling,” Sara said “And so we thought, ‘wouldn’t it be nice to be attend the wedding, reception and then stay in Camp Point?’ It’s a win-win for the other businesses in town, too, because people that are staying are going to frequent the restaurants and the other businesses in town as well.”

The Bricktown Inn will provide 10 rooms for guests, complete with modern-day amenities such as flat-screen TV’s, while preserving the building’s historic structure like the original brick walls and metal ceiling.

The Lung’s inspiration to name their new business, “The Bricktown Inn,” pays homage to the Camp Point Brickyard, which made bricks in the 1800s.

When the Bricktown Inn opens, guests can make reservations online complete with a code for self-check-in and checkout.

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