/ by Brendan Blowers
/ photos by Rebecca Lehde
The Fountain Fox Beattie House is not a museum, but it is one of those places that feels important because of its storied past. The third oldest structure in Greenville, it is described in the South Carolina Department of Archives and History as the former “center of social, cultural, and religious life of early Greenville.”
Many older locals know the story of Fountain Fox Beattie, a wealthy textile merchant, who built the home as a wedding gift to his bride Emily Edgeworth Hamlin. The house grew along with the prominent Beattie family– Italianate style wings and a grand columned porch were added in the 1880s giving the home the stately facing it still has today.
Despite a past filled with dramatic moves and the threat of demolition, the Beattie House has been awarded a new life with the Magg family; Jori Magg, a realtor for Coldwell Banker, and her dentist husband, Ryan, who, along with their five children (ages seven to fourteen) have decided to make this piece of Greenville history their private residence.
The couple was walking in their North Main neighborhood when they passed an auction sign in front of the two stone columns marking the entrance to the property.
The Maggs already owned a historic home on East Park as well as an income property in the Parkins Mill area. “Timing wasn’t great, but we thought, let’s just put a bid in,” says Jori, “we love the stories of old houses.”
They didn’t think they would be awarded the home; their offer was the only residential bid and not the highest one. To the Maggs surprise, the City of Greenville liked the idea of making it a home for a family once again. “When we got the call that we got it, we freaked out,” Jori says. After selling their two other homes in less than three months, things were falling nicely into place.
When selling public assets it’s a big task to find the perfect owner with good intentions.
“When the Magg family came forward with a proposal to renovate the home and gardens we were thrilled. What could honor this beautiful structure better than a lot of children growing up and running around?” says Councilperson Amy Ryberg Doyle. “The neighborhood is mostly single family zoned and the new use fit the neighborhood.”
The Greenville Woman’s Club had been the last tenant up until 2014. By the time ownership of the property (along with a historic easement) was transferred to the Maggs, the home had been vacant for over two years and some rooms were close to collapsing. Outside posed a similar situation. One of the things that first attracted the Maggs to the Beattie House was its large lot, which held the promise of an enchanting yard for their five kids. However, a front section of the 2.5-acres had become completely overgrown, its leafy shadows littered with broken bottles and abandoned clothes.
“When we bought it, we didn’t realize what a big ordeal the outside was going to be,” Jori says. They fenced off the street entrance abutting Church St, planted some trees to buffer the noise and erected an epic treehouse out back. What once used to be a neglected plot is now a place of storybook battles and fairytale flights.
While the yard is an on-going improvement project, it was the home’s exterior wood siding which presented the biggest challenge. “We could not pressure wash it because of the lead paint, and the chemical peels that are usually used to remove paint did not work,” Jori says. And so began a nine-month ordeal where contractors armed with heat guns and hand tools worked on one foot sections at a time, bubbling and peeling through decades upon decades of paint from bottom to top until the entire exterior was complete. That paint project ran $130,000 over budget.
Compared to the exterior work, converting the inside of the house from a public meeting place to a residential home felt a bit more rewarding. Jori knew that the wide staircase leading to the second floor from the foyer should be the focal point. Removing wood paneling that had been added sometime in the seventies or eighties revealed a treasure: original hand-carved wainscoting that runs all the way through to the second-floor landing. The railing had been painted over so many times it was impossible to tell whether it was iron or wood, Jori says, “I came every night during the summer and scraped it with a heat gun myself. It took forever, but it was worth it.” What she uncovered was sturdy heart of pine with unique decorative flourishes.
A ballroom originally stood to the right of the staircase, the site of many Greenville weddings and piano recitals. Today, it’s been converted to a comfortable living room with beautiful built-in floor to ceiling bookshelves that blend into its period surroundings. The arched doorways and towering ceilings sometimes make it difficult to find furnishings that fit such a scaled home but having an abundance of space also has its advantages, “Last Halloween we moved all the furniture and had a dance party,” Jori says.
When the home was used as a social club, it had no master bedroom or bath, so the Maggs put up a wall where a stage had been erected and created a large downstairs bedroom (complete with a walk-in closet that used to be the bridal parlor).
A lot of work has gone into the kitchen to make it ready to serve a large family. The Maggs installed a massive marble-topped center island, new cabinets and redesigned the pantries which now lie behind a double Subzero fridge to make better use of space. A laundry room and mudroom also flank this side of the home. There’s also an expansive porch along the back of the house, which has been reimagined with screens, tile floors and new lighting replacing ancient rickety fans.
The upstairs required the fewest changes. There were already three bedrooms but by hanging some doors and putting up a wall and closet, the Maggs were able to add a fourth. The kids’ rooms are tied together by centuries-old soft cedar plank floors and an 1800s-era enamel trough tub remains in one bath.
Oasis Custom Homes completed all of the work under Jori’s watchful eye and planning, but no architect was employed. That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of others involved with the project. Every decision was mulled over by both state and local historic review boards. The Maggs have binders full of before and after pictures, and every detail, from the color of a chair rail to the size of trim, had to be approved in person by one of the agencies. “I’ve been to more design review boards then I can count,” Jori says.
The renovation process was intense, but the finished product is a feast for the eyes, something that serves a family’s needs as well as extending the life of one of Greenville’s most historic places.
The Fountain Fox Beattie House began as a home built for a family and thanks to a key decision by the City of Greenville and the ambitious vision of the Magg family, it has returned to its original intent.
The Fountain Fox Beattie House: A Historical Timeline
1830s
Fountain Fox Beattie arrives in Greenville from Virginia and purchases a 3-acre lot for $400 on present-day East North Street in an area considered “the suburbs.”
1834
Construction begins across the street from Christ Church. The home’s original design is simple, four rooms split between an upstairs and downstairs, with a separate kitchen.
1880s
The home remains in the prosperous Beattie family and takes on an Italianate addition with one-story wings and tall front columns.
Early 1900s
Recognized as much for its lush gardens and nicknamed “The Arboretum,” Mrs. John Beattie, wife to one of Beattie’s heirs, enjoyed Greenville’s first greenhouse.
Late 1930s-1940s
As World War II raged on, the remaining Beattie heirs rented the house until the expansion of Church Street required the house to be relocated.
1946
The City purchases the property and the demolition of the home is announced. Prominent women in the community band together to implore City officials to save the home.
1948
The structure is moved under mule-power to its new street, Beattie Place.
1950
The house opens its doors to the first Greenville Woman’s Club meeting. The club rents the home from the city for a dollar each year.
1974
The Beattie House is listed on the National Historic Register.
1983
A real estate development company, U.S. Shelter, brokers a deal with the City to relocate the Beattie House, this time to off Bennett Street. The move takes 12 hours and costs $58,000 dollars. U.S. Shelter pays $75,000 for the brick foundation the house now rests on.
2014
The Greenville Woman’s Club disbands under mismanagement and ownership of the home reverts back to the City, the home is in disrepair and near ruin.
2015
The City approves a sale of the property to golfer Gary Player’s company Black Knight International for a corporate office, but the deal falls through, leaving the Beattie House vacant.
2017
The property goes to auction as two lots and the Magg family submits the winning bid, beating out higher bids that would have made the home into a restaurant or bed and breakfast.
