SALUDA, S.C. – The Saluda County Historical Society announced today that the Marsh-Johnson House Interior Restoration Project had been completed and that the Marsh-Johnson house will be available for tours.

For a house built around the time of the American Revolution, it had problems which prevented it from being used a house museum.  The fact that the floor was not safe was a major problem.  In addition, the interior, which had been neglected for many years, lacked the charm it had once had. Although the house had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982, it had steadily deteriorated over the years. Virginia Witt, who owned the house and land, decided in 1990 to rescue the historical treasure by deeding it to the Saluda County Historical Society.

Gloria Caldwell, secretary of the society’s Board of Directors, after seeing the inside restoration of the Marsh-Johnson House, declared, “This is a miracle.”   Teresa Satterfield, also a Board member, remarked, “When I ride by an old house needing repair and looking forlorn, I say “House, what you need is a Mother.”  Well, today the Marsh-Johnson House has found its Mother!

The Saluda County Historical Society was awarded a matching grant by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in the amount of $3,000 on May 6, 2013.   Funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of Old 96 District Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, located in Edgefield, SC.