As a boutique realty agency, Wilson Associates specializes in selling one-of-a-kind, high-end homes across the South Carolina Upstate. Perhaps our favorite houses to list and sell, however, are historic homes. Admittedly, buying historical homes can come with certain drawbacks—they often require a greater number of repairs and a higher rate of insurance—but for connoisseurs of architectural design and history, the advantages, in our opinion, far outweigh these drawbacks.
Buying a historical house offers something that it is difficult to put a price tag on: the ability to transport its owners back to a time period or era with their stunning and inimitable architectural style. From ornate stone fireplaces to arched doors to gables and towers, the intricacy of detail in the stylized features of historical homes make them some of the most desired on the residential real estate market.
Take this gorgeous French Second Empire Victorian in the heart of Alta Vista, now under contract through Wilson.
Originally named the Lanneau-Norwood House, it was erected in 1877 and recently restored. With its grand foyer and elevated ceilings, buying this historical property transports homeowners into the postbellum period in America.
French Second Empire homes mark the United States first true embrace of Victorian era architectural styles. Most popular in the Northeast and Midwest, Second Empire refers to the style’s roots to Napoleon III’s reign in France. During this period in France, Napoleon III commenced a campaign to transform Paris into the “City of Lights,” with grand boulevards and majestic buildings.
The home’s exterior facade is replete with features of this period: the sloping mansard roof at its uppermost peak, the balustrade wrapped atop the porch, and the cupolas on the home’s outer peaks. With the original cook’s house transformed into a private guest cottage, the architectural enthusiast will spend years before they fully catalog all the fine details that make this home exemplary.
The interior of the home is no less spectacular, from the antique mouldings and cornices lining its 12 rooms, to the damask velvet walls of the dining room.
One element that the historic properties for sale from Wilson Associates have over their newer counterparts—of which the above home is a paradigmatic example—is the quality of craftsmanship. Buying a historical home typically matters more to homeowners looking for craftsmanship over some of the amenities of newer constructions.
Buying a historic home also puts you in touch, and helps you preserve, the history of your town and its local heritage. In this case, the history of Greenville, South Carolina.
From its humble beginnings in the 1770s as no more than an estate with a saw mill, a grist mill, and a trading post, to its modern manifestation as region that boasts more than half-a-million residents in Greater Greenville County, our areas historic homes play an integral role in preserving our region’s past.
In buying a historic property in Greenville, you become the owner of an important piece of history, breathing life into the Upstate’s past. Many homeowners believe that the restoration and ownership of historic homes can’t be strictly measured in money—and we agree—because you are helping the residents of the region to maintain that all important connection to the past.
For this reason many buyers of historical homes, both in Greenville, SC and elsewhere think about their purchase in terms of mission: to preserve the history of their region, as well as the history of our country more broadly.
Wilson Associates is proud to offer some of the choicest real-estate in the Upstate, and nothing better exemplifies our commitment to serving Greater Greenville than our passion for historical homes. We understand that it is part of the job of any real estate agency to both embrace change, as well as preserve the heritage and character of a region. We excel at balancing these two very different imperatives.
