COLUMBIA, S.C. — Larry Faulkenberry, the current owner of the Goodwill Estate, which dates back to 1750, expressed mixed feelings about putting the property on the market. "I still love Goodwill. I have spent a lot of time and a lot of hard work to improve it to what it is today, but I feel like we have another mission or another calling," Faulkenberry shared.
In 1994, Larry and his wife, Jerry, purchased the historic Goodwill Estate in Eastover, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
"When you own a place this large there is always something to do and always something to keep you busy. You can always see things that you can improve on, so we have spent 30 years improving this place. Goodwill did not look like this when we bought it," Faulkenberry commented.
Surrounded by over 3,600 acres of preservation land and the Wateree River Heritage Preserve Wildlife Management Area, Goodwill Estate boasts historical structures like the overseer's house, mill building, slave cabins, a blacksmith's shop, a lodge, and the main house.
"This is the Heyward House that was built in 1858 when the Heywards came to Goodwill, bought Goodwill and came here. This was going to be their temporary dwelling," Faulkenberry explained as he walked us through the historic house.
Since purchasing the property, the Faulkenberrys have dedicated efforts to restoring multiple structures while preserving historical aspects, such as the equipment in the cotton mill.
"All cotton gin was then was a bank of saws. This was a 70 saw gin; there are 70 across there, and they got serrated teeth on them and they would saw the lint off the cotton seed," Faulkenberry said, showing the historic equipment. "Once they got these baskets full they would have to bring these baskets upstairs. This is a cotton press," he said, pointing to the large structure sitting in the cotton mill.
With the historic estate now on the market, Faulkenberry says the next owners need to appreciate the land, its beauty and, of course, its history.
"When you come to Goodwill, we don't have a big plantation house, it was never built. But we can tell you stories, stories about the enslaved people, we can tell you their names, what they did and not only that but you can see what they did here and where they lived," Faulkenberry elaborated.
Expressing hopes for the estate's future, Faulkenberry concluded, "It's time for us to take a break from all this work and work doing other things and maybe even spending more time together."
The estate was put on the market last week and is currently still up for sale.