Old Town Bluffton’s historic Heyward House getting facelift

From the porch to the attic, from the gift shop to the summer kitchen, Old Town Bluffton’s 176-year-old Heyward House is getting a major facelift.

“The house has excellent bones — good structure,” Bluffton Historic Preservation Society executive director Anthony Barrett said Tuesday. “It just needs a little TLC.”

The home on Boundary Street serves as the preservation society’s headquarters and Old Town’s visitors center.

The renovations are expected to cost about $135,000 and will be paid for through a combination of grants and private donations, Barrett said.

Katie Epps, director of the Heyward House, said, “It’s vital for Bluffton’s history that we preserve this house.

“It’s 176 years old,” she said. “We want it to be around in another 176 years.”

The project includes replacing and repairing floors, windows and ceilings, as well as upgrading the home’s plumbing and electrical systems.

The decking and the columns on the front porch will be refurbished.

Behind the main house sit a summer kitchen and a slave quarters building, both of which will be renovated.

“Once we get through with that, we will paint everything — inside and out,” Barrett said.

The project also includes expanding the gift shop and adding a new ramp that makes the home more wheelchair-accessible.

“That’s extremely important for old folks like me,” Barrett joked.

All of the work is expected to wrap up by mid-summer, and the preservation society is planning a ribbon-cutting party for July 31.

For more information on the preservation society or the renovation project, call the Heyward House at 843-757-6293.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Old Town Bluffton’s historic Heyward House getting facelift."