An Evening with the Save the Wilkins House
March 14, 2014
GREENVILLE, SC – March 14, 2014 – The Save the Wilkins House Initiative will be hosting an event next week for the community to learn more about this historic effort.
An Evening to Save the Wilkins House will be held Wednesday, March 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Upcountry History Museum, 540 Buncombe Street, in downtown Greenville. The event is free and light refreshments will be served.
We want to update the community on where the Initiative stands, said Kelly Odom, the group’s chairman. This is also our way of thanking the community for it support.
The The Save The Wilkins House Initiative has a goal of raising $360,000 in order to save the historic Augusta Road structure, move it to a new location and set up easements that keep the two-story Italianate-style home from ever being demolished.
Local residents have banded together and with the aid of the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation and have come up with a plan to save the home, which dates back to 1876, Odom said.
The proposal is to move the 1,000-ton house off of its current location to a nearby site in the Augusta Road community. The commission is working with a local developer, Neil Wilson of Reality Link, on finding the best site, said Mike Bedenbaugh, executive director of the Palmetto Trust.
The entire cost of preparing the house for the move, actual moving and then restoration is roughly $760,000, but almost half has been pledged has been pledged, Bedenbaugh said. Part of the pledge is an easement to keep the house from not being moved again.
That leaves a $360,000 gap that has to be made up, Bedenbaugh said. The Initiative members and the Palmetto Trust already are seeking donors as well as applying for a national grant to help move and save the Wilkins House.
The house’s is located at 1004 Augusta Street, and was built for William T. Wilkins, a merchant who made his fortune in New York before coming to Greenville and marrying a local woman, Harriet Cleveland. The house was constructed by local contractor Jacob Cagle.
For more information on the Save The Wilkins House Initiative or to donate money to the cause, go to palmettotrust.org/savethewilkinshouse or learn more at the SaveTheWilkinsHouse Facebook page.
About the Palmetto Trust
The Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the endangered historic places of South Carolina through preservation development, advocacy, education and networking. The Palmetto Trust is the state’s only statewide membership organization committed exclusively to preservation.
