NA Homes: Carolina Oaks

Turn of the century home now bed and breakfast
By Lisa Kaylor Staff Writer
Posted April 7, 2009 6:42 PM

Carolina Oaks, located on Carolina Avenue, was built in 1906.
Rachel Franklin has a few unanswered questions about the history of her bed and breakfast, Carolina Oaks.
When she bought the property she knew that George Murphy built the house and only lived in it six months because he "did not like the little house being built next door," Franklin said.
Gradually, through her own research and information given to her by people who remember previous owners, she has been able to piece together the story of her home.
Carolina Oaks was built in 1906 on property that was once owned by the city's founder, James U. Jackson.
The Guess family has been, to date, the home's longest residents. The family lived in the house from 1907 to 1968.
In their honor, Franklin dedicated one of the home's three guest rooms to them by naming it the Guess Room and decorating it in a simple, old-fashioned décor.
Simple floral sheers frame the window above a queen bed adorned with a bedspread in the same pattern.
"I really wanted this one to be Grandma-looking," Franklin said.
Ryerson Guess, who lived in the house with his grandmother, his wife and two daughters, died in 1925, leaving the four women to share the residence.
Through pictures and information passed to her by people who remember the house, Franklin learned that the house had a second story porch.
It was removed because it leaked, she said. Recently, she found out it also had an awning on the front, which Franklin said she'd like to replace.
During the 29 years the Dolittle family lived in the home, from 1970 to 1999, they covered the floors in blue carpet. Franklin learned they also installed heating and air conditioning.
Many of the home's features are original. The fireplaces worked until 1999; Franklin had them restored to working order.
Most of the light fixtures in the home are original, including matching sconces that once flanked the bed in each of the rooms.
Until heating and air conditioning was installed in the 1980s, the house was heated by a stove in the foyer and a window unit in the second floor stairwell.
Franklin plans to install bathrooms in each of the bedrooms. The home has only one bathroom upstairs that guests must share.
Franklin said that when she started looking at houses for her bed and breakfast, she wasn't interested in this house. Then she saw the inside.
"We walked through it, and this was it," she said. "We just knew this was the one."
This is a continuing series that features historic homes of North Augusta.
Reach Lisa Kaylor at (706) 828-3909 or lisa.kaylor@northaugustatoday.com.

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