One of Beaufort’s most notable homes is still on the market and awaiting a buyer with particular taste. The ‘Prince of Tides’ mansion, the historic and iconic Lewis Reeve Sams house in downtown Beaufort’s Point Neighborhood is awaiting its next owner.
The historic mansion at 601 Bay St. was featured in the 1991 movie “Prince of Tides” based on the novel by Beaufort author Pat Conroy, and served as a headquarters for Union Gen. Rufus Saxton during the Civil War.
The home was listed in 2019 for for $2.395 million, and has now seen a price reduction to $2.295 million.
The house is in the Point neighborhood, overlooking the Beaufort River and the Woods Memorial Bridge and is everything you expect in a historic southern home.
The property has been on the market off and on the past several years.
The 7,600-square-foot home was built in 1852 by South Carolina planter Lewis Reeve Sams. The property was previously the Bay Street Inn and has recently been used as a private residence by owners Scott and Gwen Myers, who bought the home in 2006.
Throughout the years, the home has retained its plantation-style architecture, replete with characteristic Greek-Revival inspiration and a two-tiered porch lined with columns and prominent window shutters.
Six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, a library and formal dining room and parlor are among the home’s features, according to the real estate listing. The main level features a large veranda with captivating river views that opens to a grand entrance hall.
According to local Beaufort lore, the house was saved from burning in the Great Fire of 1907, which destroyed a large part of downtown, because of the efforts of the employees of the Waterhouse cotton gin who formed a bucket brigade to put out any flames.
Several Historic Homes Available
The Lewis Reeve Sams house is one of several historic homes in the area to hit the market recently, according to the Beaufort County MLS.
The Elliot Mansion at the corner of Bay and Charles Streets in downtown is for sale, as is Marshlands, built in 1814 over on Pinckney Street in the Point Neighborhood.
Of heavy historical note, the Milton Maxey House, also known as the Seccession House is also for sale. It was built in 1810 on top of the foundation of another house that was built in 1740. The first meeting in favor of secession from the Union took place in the house, and during the Civil War, the home served many purposes including an officers’ quarters, a hospital and as a Pay Master’s Station for Union Troops.
