2019 Historic Saluda Tour of Homes

The Historic Saluda Committee (HSC) sponsored its biennial Historic Saluda Tour of Homes on Saturday, June 1, 2019. The proceeds from the tour went toward preserving the legacy of Madame Phoebe Sullivan, a remarkable black woman, healer, leader and entrepreneur. Madame Sullivan felt her greatest accomplishment was founding Sullivan’s Missionary Baptist Church in 1948. Her church now sits in ruins and has been acquired by the Saluda Community Land Trust. Plans are in the works to rebuild the temple and to create a memorial to her legacy. One of several ideas is to turn the church grounds into a music venue to continue the musical legacy of the temple, where icons like Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke once sang.
Stops on the tour included a mixture of homes and other historic properties. These properties included the historic M.A. Pace House, now the Blue Firefly Inn; the Oaks Bed and Breakfast, an example of one of the many inns that thrived during the heyday of the railroad; the Saluda United Methodist Church, the oldest building in town and the Rembert House, a private residence from 1902. This year there was an example of Saluda “today” with a tour of modern Arts & Crafts style condominium housing, built on the Burgie Farm property. As a bonus of the tour, participants were able to visit the grounds of Sullivan’s Temple where members of the Saluda Community Land Trust were available to answer questions.
A special thanks for Nancy Pew for chairing the home tour.
Photos and video by Cindy Stephenson Tuttle.
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