With his surviving brother Jacob, inherited half the Mohler estate -- the half without the caves. Later he acquired part of that section, and he maintained the house as an inn.

The Mohler’s freed their slaves before the war, sending those who wanted to be free to Ohio. House and lawn became a field hospital during the Civil War, when Stonewall Jackson fought several battles in the vicinity. It passed from one side to the other. Supposedly Union soldiers vandalized the caves and burned the house, forcing Abram to rebuild.