Upstate preservation organization to purchase YMCA-owned land in Simpsonville

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The Upstate Preservation Trust plans to purchase approximately 52 acres of historic land in Simpsonville, the Oakland Plantation, which is part of a larger project the organization is spearheading and its overall goal to restore and preserve the original plantation and surrounding green space.

The plantation house on Oakland Plantation at 259 Adams Mill Road was constructed in 1823 by Dr. Thomas Austin. The Upstate Preservation Trust had the opportunity to acquire the plantation house, 10 outbuildings, and more than 50 acres of open space from the YMCA of Greenville County, which currently owns property.

“I was present in 2011 when the historic marker was unveiled,” said Greenville County Councilman H.G. “Butch” Kirven Jr. “It is a tranquil setting next to a huge magnolia tree partially obscuring the 1823 home of a doctor from Pennsylvania. The 52-acre site, acquired by the Greenville YMCA in 2002 together with other properties closer to Highway 14, is the last vestige of the neighborhood’s rural past.”

When it became known that the YMCA was about the put the property on the market, Kirven said he received calls from residents wanting to know if the property could somehow be preserved instead of developed by a residential developer.

In 2020, Kirven worked with a group of fellow council members to create the Historic and Natural Resources Trust to handle opportunities such as this one. Contact was made with leaders of the Greenville YMCA to ask them to work with the trust in acquiring the property for perpetual public use, said Kirven. The YMCA then agreed and the trust is working with the South Carolina Conservation Bank and Upstate Preservation Trust to secure grants to purchase the property at the full appraised value.

This project also was presented to the Upstate Preservation Trust this past spring by local preservationists and interested community members, said Lindsey Strand, Upstate Preservation Trust vice-chairman.

“We were given information that the Y was interested in selling the property and these members wanted to see these historic resources preserved instead of developed on, so that’s when UPT got involved,” said Strand.

Project goals include restoring the original plantation house and the 10 outbuildings on the property. The property has one of three remaining slave cabins in Greenville County.

“This is an invaluable historic resource that must be protected,” the Upstate Preservation Trust said in a statement.

UPT plans to put a park on the property with assistance from Greenville County Parks and Recreation, which is considered a long-term goal of the overall project. The trust also aims to bring children’s educational programming back to Oakland Plantation as early as summer 2024.

UPT has submitted two grant applications for the acquisition price for the property, which is approximately $1.2 million. The trust requested half of the funding from the South Carolina Conservation Bank and the other half from the trust, said Strand. So far, the trust has secured more than $250,000 in community support to be used for partial restoration of the project. The trust also is requesting an additional $200,000 in state funding for preservation of buildings.

They hope to close on the purchase sometime in Q1 of next year, said Strand.

Plans for the Oakland Plantation house include: the house’s roof needs to be replaced; portions of the siding on the house need to be replaced; the house needs to be repainted by hand; the shutters on the house need to be recreated to match the original, historically accurate shutters; long-range planning to ensure the sustainable management of the property.

Once the property is acquired, Greenville County through its parks department, will study the most feasible and useful ways to open the site for public use with nature trails and environmental education opportunities. The county also will preserve the historic homestead as a reminder of how people lived in the early development of this area, said Kirven. There are some indications that traces of Native American presence on the land could be found as well, he said.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for a new park in this highly developed area of the county, and I am extremely happy to be able to work on achieving just that,” Kirven said.

Strand said it’s still early in the funding process to purchase the property. The organization will meet with the South Carolina Conservation Bank on Dec. 13 to approve half of the funding needed to purchase the property and meets with the trust on Dec. 18 to get the other half of funding approved.

“This will be a phased restoration project with the buildings as funding becomes available,” she added. “We are actively fundraising and want to do as much as possible as quickly as possible.”

The mission of the Upstate Preservation Trust is to preserve and protect the historic fabric of the Upstate. The organization was developed to help protect what organizers felt was a large quantity of buildings being demolished because of intense development pressure in the region. The organization identified education, community engagement and stewardship as three key areas that they believe are important to accomplishing the mission.