The Matthews House

The following is from an online description of the house:

"Oakhurst is a two-story brick private residence built circa 1893 to 1895 by Budd Cade Matthews and Clara Crotwell Matthews on the site of an earlier dwelling. Designed by the firm of Niernsee and La Motte of Columbia, the house reflects both the Queen Anne and Italianate influences. It is the only house in Newberry known to have been designed by the Niernsee firm and is the only identified brick dwelling in the Midlands region of the state which features the Queen Anne style. Among the outstanding architectural features of the house are its three-story turret with shingled tent roof, encircling veranda, arched entryway and stair hall. Oakhurst is also notable for its extant collection of original dependencies, which include a brick privy, brick milk house, frame stable, combination wood/hen house, and well. Budd Cade Matthews was a prominent Newberry banker, businessman and civic leader. Matthews founded the B.C. Matthews Brick Manufacturing Company and the Matthews and Cannon Mercantile Firm. He served as president of the Newberry Chamber of Commerce, and as a director of both the Newberry Cotton Mills and the Newberry Hospital Association. In addition, Budd Cade Matthews owned large farming interests. Listed in the National Register April 24, 1979. It has since been demolished. Removed from the National Register December 8, 2005."

The following information about the house is from a form in 1979 nominating the house for inclusion on the national register of historic places:

When the house was purchased for the purpose of redeveloping the property for commercial use, preservationists in the area made several attempts to stop the destruction of the house.  Most hoped that the house could be preserved where it was, possibly as a visitors center or a museum. When it became clear  that the property was going to be commercialized, attempts were made to raise money to move the house to another location and Newberry College considered moving the house to its campus. But concerns about the cost and the difficulty of moving a brick house (with 18" walls) across town led to the final decision to tear the house down after the interior woodwork was removed for reuse.