About

Stephen grew up visiting Mentone, Lookout Mountain, Little River Canyon and DeSoto State Park. When he and Michele met in the late 80s, these were among the first places he shared with her. They continued the tradition with their children, sharing the natural beauty, food and festivals of the area. For decades, a dream had been in their hearts … the dream of owning a place in Mentone to share with family, friends and fellow travelers. The Bluff View Cabins at Mentone are the culmination of that dream.

Stephen and Michele are entrepreneurs and creatives. In 1996 they launched a marketing and communications company, grew it to the Inc. 5000 list and sold it to a strategic acquirer in 2020. They remain involved with the business, along with other marketing and media endeavors. Creativity is a hallmark of their family: daughter Kayleigh is director of theatre at Northeast Alabama Community College; son Lucas is owner and engineer at Lucky Sound Studio; daughter-in-law Anna is a graphic designer; and grandson Ryder brightens up everyone’s lives.

As a young man, Mike was raised an outdoorsman. His father brought him up hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. He quickly grew to love the outdoors. Raised on neighboring Sand Mountain, he always enjoyed the short trip over to Lookout Mountain — especially Mentone. He proposed to Jennifer at Little River Canyon, and quickly showed her all he knew about Lookout Mountain. They grew to love Mentone and had a desire to own their own property there someday.

In 1999, at 19 years old, they started Henson Farms, a two-house breeder hen operation. In 2004 they added two more breeder houses, along with cattle. If that wasn’t enough, they recently added a forestry mulching business. The couple has two sons — Braxton, who started his own successful small business at age 14, and Cooper, who is now 11 and contributes by keeping the family smiling.

With the Hensons’ busy lives, Mentone has often been a short and quick getaway. They have always had dreams, some realistic and some that were out of reach. They always thought a cabin in Mentone would be the latter. It was a dream of theirs for many years. Fast forward a bit, and dreams do come true. They now have a place of their own to share with their two boys — and with you. Whether it’s the long list of waterfalls and hiking trails you seek, Little River Canyon, DeSoto State Park, the small town feels or simply a cabin with a view, they hope you enjoy this small piece of beautiful Alabama.