Councilman Joe Dill receives key to historic Goodwin House

By Dean Campbell, Contributor:

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. – District 17 Greenville County Councilman Joe Dill was recently presented with the key to the historic John H. Goodwin House, located on Hwy. 11 at U.S. 25, by the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway Association, owner of the property since 2007.

Ownership of the circa 1794 house, restored post-Civil War store and 11 acres was transferred to Greenville County by the Association to ensure restoration of the house, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968.

The house, store and adjoining acreage are protected by a Conservation Easement entered into by the Association with Upstate Forever.

The Hagood family married into the Goodwin family toward the end of the Civil War and lived in the house from that time forward, even though ownership of the property was maintained by the Goodwins for many years, since they could not pass ownership to Elizabeth (Lizzie) Goodwin directly.

The house has been referred to as the Hagood House for more than 100 years. Ruby Hagood, son Frank, and daughter Inez deserve much credit for seeing the need to preserve and restore the historic structure when they sold it to the Association.

Through a series of grants and matching funds, including several contributions from Greenville County, the Association worked with Harris Architects of Brevard, N.C., to restore the post-Civil War store and did preservation work on, and an architect’s restoration plan for, the house.

Recent changes in FHWA and SCDOT regulations require that continuing restoration be done through a Local Project Administrator (LPA). Ty Houck of the Greenville County Parks and Recreation Department has been designated LPA for the project. The Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway Association has requested that three outstanding grants, not yet used due to the change in regulations, be transferred to Greenville County.

Pictured in article: Dean Campbell (left) presents key to the historic John H. Goodwin House to Joe Dill, District 17 Greenville County councilman/Provided.

(Editor's note: Dean Campbell is the president of Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Byway Association.)