How We Met: Hiram & Mathew

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: November - 2022 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

Mathew Gillen and Hiram Wilkinson

Hidden in the woods, on a slope in the middle of the Nantahala Forest, just south of Highlands, is a secluded mountaintop boutique resort. Were it not for the chimneys that rise above the rooflines, the cluster of wood framed buildings would seem a living part of the forest. Visitors to the area know it as the Fire Mountain Inn. 

It’s the place where co-owners and life partners Hiram Wilkinson and Mathew Gillen have for 27 years welcomed vacationers seeking refuge and relaxation.

But I’m getting ahead of the story. To understand Fire Mountain, we must go back to the beginning – to Atlanta in the fall of 1993, when the pair first met. Mathew was working at Restaurant Chow, and Hiram, a well-known real estate developer and investor, managing a large portfolio of investments.

Mathew recalls the evening in the restaurant’s downtown location that he was asked to serve a group that had previously requested him. “Hiram was the last person to walk in, and when I looked at him something clicked. I thought to myself he is attractive, but I shrugged it off thinking I would never see him again.”   

Hiram distinctly remembers Mathew. “What had happened was that my partner of many years, a prominent surgeon, had unexpectedly died. I was in a state of no feeling, overwhelmed by the circumstances, and some friends were taking me to dinner.”

Two weeks later Mathew was working at the restaurant’s second location when Hiram was once again seated in his section. Mathew thought, “Maybe this does mean something. I decided to throw caution to the wind and do something I had never done before – I left my phone number on the check.”

The next day Hiram left town on a planned road trip with his two King Charles spaniels – visiting friends up and down the Eastern seaboard, hoping to find some resolution after the loss of his partner.

Mathew, who described his status as “carefree and living the dream,” had never been in a relationship. 

“But I had an intuition that I needed to pursue getting to know Hiram better. I realized he was going through a tough time, and I felt like he needed somebody.”  

Still, he was concerned that Hiram, “might have too much on his plate to start a new relationship so soon after the last one ended.”  

Hiram and Mathew, 1994

The day after Hiram’s return, they had their first phone conversation, openly discussing mutual concerns.

At their first date at a neighborhood restaurant, the chemistry was instant. They spent the next weekend at Hiram’s house on Mirror Lake in Highlands. Mathew, who had never been to Highlands, swooned over the property and the area. 

“I recognized right away that he’s loving, he’s kind, very caring and with a smile that could knock you over,” Hiram said. “I could not think of one fault at all – there was instant chemistry between us. How you fall in love just happens.”

He has a strength and confidence, and energy about him that I had not encountered in anyone else,” Mathew said, “And I loved that he’s very handsome and has great calf muscles.”

The relationship progressed rapidly. On a weekend day in December, returning from Mirror Lake, Hiram asked Mathew if he might “want to do something together.”  Hiram had had enough of the real estate business in Atlanta. Several years earlier, he had vowed to liquidate his assets before he turned 50 and move to Highlands. They decided to see if there would be an inn that they could buy and run together – a place where they could combine their skills in hospitality and business.

They agreed that it was important to find a place near town but up on the Plateau, a spot that was secluded and where life could be centered on the outside. When they visited the Oak View Inn on Highway 106 and saw the inn with its long-range views on top of the mountain, they knew it was what they wanted. When the owners explained the business was not for sale, they left their cards. A year later, in 1996, two days before Hiram’s 50th birthday they finalized the purchase. 

They have been elevating and refining the property ever since – adding a spa, a destination-worthy restaurant, and rooms, cabins, and treehouses to luxuriate in and swoon over. 

The couple’s ability to bond over the day-to-day business of running Fire Mountain Inn while still having so much fun together is their superpower. They agree that doing so has been their greatest achievement; finding joy in the magical and transformative times they make possible for their guests. 

“We love what we have done here,” says Mathew. “Every day we look forward to finding the next trail, one more waterfall, or experience that we can share. Following our passion is what we are about.”