History
Main Event
The North Main district’s Holiday Homes Tour is a window to past lives / by Jac Chebator is
“I
f these walls could talk” could be the tagline for the homes featured in the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes, hosted by the Colonel Elias Earle Historic District Association. And though anthropomorphized objects are more the realm of Disney movies, perhaps talking walls aren’t such a farfetched notion, considering one supernatural sighting in the Historic District. “He’s the only ghost we’ve ever seen,” Rita Stone says as casually as if she were telling her family that dinner was ready. “Well, I haven’t seen him,” she continues, “but my daughter and her best friend did.” Stone is talking about her husband Chuck Stone’s uncle, William Butler Stone, who died in 1912 and apparently made an unexpected visit when the Stones’ daughter Jessie was in high school. At least they think it was. This paranormal visitor is just one thread woven into a rich family history that began with a beautiful home at 310 West Earle Street. Whitehall, as it is known, is the oldest documented home in the City of Greenville. It began as a summer escape for Charlestonian Henry Middleton, a former South Carolina governor and son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Middleton bought the land from one of Greenville’s founding fathers Colonel Elias Earle in 1813 and used the home until 1820 when he sold it to George Washington Earle. Earle’s daughter Eugenia married Dr. Charles Benjamin Stone, and the house has since stayed in the family.
Breeze Through: Whitehall’s shady, wraparound galleries were added in 1850, a luxurious addition to the former summer home. The Holiday Tour of Historic Homes will take place on Saturday, December 14, 2013, from 10am–6pm. Advance tickets are available for $20 at Horizon Records, Foxfire, Mast General Store, and The Emporium. Tickets will also be available on the day of the tour for $25 at each house. For more information, visit ceehda.com
Photog r aph cour tes y of Susan M itchel l
DESPITE WHITEHALL’S HISTORIC NATURE, IT’S NOT FUSSY, STAID, OR LOST IN TIME. IT’S AN INVITING, HANDSOMELY-APPOINTED MODERN HOME—ONE THAT JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE ORIGINAL COPIES OF HARPERS MAGAZINE DATED 1854.
Despite the historic nature of Whitehall, it’s not fussy, staid, or lost in time. Instead, it feels like an inviting, handsomely-appointed modern home—one that just happens to have original copies of Harpers Magazine dated 1854 alongside a custom-built, screening-room-sized television. Each generation has added its own touches, such as the wraparound porches that were added in 1850. “Remember,” Rita says, “it was just a summer home when it was built, and it was a very plain house.” Whitehall’s 200-year history makes it the cornerstone of this tour, which features a total of five architecturally-distinct homes. The Cooley residence at 800 North Main Street, built in 1910, is a rare Southern example of prairie-style architecture designed by Greenville architect Joseph T. Lawrence. The two-story clapboard home at 201 East Earle Street is next in seniority, and though the 3,000-square-foot structure has been renovated, it retains period-specific coffered ceilings and wainscot paneling in the dining room. Moving past Whitehall at 328 West Earle Street is a classic Craftsman home built in 1925 by a member of the Stone family. Russell and Dianne Farr, the current owners, have taken pains to restore the original woodwork, hardware, and cabinetry, as well as furnishing the home with vintage Craftsman pieces. The western bookend of the tour is 106 James Street, built in 1927 for the Poe family. Doric columns and a monumental portico front the Colonial Revival home, while the interior retains the original chandeliers and fireplaces in every room. Although every featured home cannot claim an unannounced ghost of Christmas past, the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes ensures that you don’t have to be a spirit to view what’s inside.
52 TOWN / towncarolina.com