The Payne-Corley House was built around 1873, shortly after the town of Howell’s Cross Roads changed its name to Duluth. With the honor of being the second oldest house in town, this original farm house was purchased by Joseph L. Moor in 1904. Soon after moving into the home, one of Joseph’s daughters, Emma, married their next door neighbor and local merchant Lee Payne. In 1917, Emma succumbed to the flu epidemic, leaving her husband to care for their three daughters. Not long after Emma’s passing Lee moved into his wife’s former home where Emma’s sister, Elizabeth, could help him care for the girls. Lee later married Elizabeth, and together they raised his daughter here.

The youngest daughter, Frances Payne, fell in love with a young man named Minor Corley. They were soon married and in 1938, Frances Payne-Corley took over the estate where they lived together and raised their only daughter Betsy Corley. After Frances' death in 1981, Minor Corley married a childhood friend, Winnie Guthrie-Cain. She lived in the house with Mr. Corley until his passing, and occupied the house until the summer of 1998.

In 1998, a group of five ladies, life-long friends and Duluth residents purchased the home from Betsy Corley. Promising to honor her family’s rich heritage, they transformed the home into the Payne-Corley House, a magical destination for weddings and special events. The ladies personally managed the facility until October 2004, when they hired a professional management company led by Krista and Michael Ganley to oversee the day to day operations of the business. With their own ties and roots to historic Duluth, the Ganleys purchased the Payne-Corley House in July of 2008, and continue as owner/operators today.