Eastover, SC (WLTX) -- It's one of the oldest standing structures in the state, but now its future is in question.
The Kensington Mansion in Lower Richland County has been closed for a year, and the people running it have been told they need to leave the property.
The home has been run for years by the Scarborough-Hamen Foundation. Though they've been given a year to vacate, they are being offered help with moving expenses. But with the future of the mansion up in the air, just what happens to the history that still remains inside is just one question that will be addressed moving forward.
"(We) saw the sign of the Kensington Mansion, and definitely had some interest as to what that could be," said Mandy Jacobs, who said she was driving through Eastover on Highway 601 as she returned to to her home in Charlotte from a conference in Charleston.
Jacobs stopped by the mansion hoping for a look at history, but instead, greeted by locks and chains at its gate, she left with questions.
"I would absolutely love to have the opportunity to see such a great mansion," she said.
The 12,000 sq. ft. home, morphed from past to present with years of restoration, has been closed for a year now. It was shut down after ice storms pelted the state last year.0
For just how long it will stay closed is another question.
The mansions played host to thousands of visitors each year. It's furnished, top to bottom, with furniture mostly from the 1800's.
But its sits on land owned by International Paper, who chose to dissolve the the contract between their organization and Scarborough-Hamen, who ran day-to-day operations, and is headed by Rickie Good.
Damage to the home has not been repaired since the storms last year. There's some concern about how the climate inside the home could affect the furniture.
A spokesperson for IP could not provide more detail on if that's related to the damage.
Good said she hopes the home can be preserved for future generations.
"I would love if we could continue doing tours out there," she said.
The organizations next concern is what happens to the 4,000 items in the home.
"We are trying to think of a way that we can maintain the integrity of the collection, but we're not quite sure how to do that," Good said.
Among possible options, she said, her organization is considering giving the furniture to history museums in South Carolina.
Rickie Good's organization is now considering what to do with the furniture.
"Some of those pieces will be going to other museums, which would be our hope that we could do that. Whatever we do, of course, the board of trustees makes the final decision," Good said.
Good said the Scarborough-Hamen Foundaion's board of trustees will meet at the end of the month to figure out just what to do.
Kim Wirth, a spokesperson for IP said even they're not sure what will happen with the mansion in the future.
They hope to have a decision by the end of this year, Wirth said.
We reached out to Richland County Councilman Kelvin Washington. The home falls in his district.
Washington said he supports keeping the home open if there is more focus on the historical context of contributions made by African-Americans around the time of reconstruction.
