One of Beaufort’s most notable homes is back on the market for sale again 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 family.
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, according to the real estate listing.
The home was listed a week ago for $2.395 million, according to this article in The State.
The house is in the Point neighborhood, overlooking the Beaufort River and Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge and is everything you expect in a historic southern home.
Leah Melvin, real estate agent with Keller Williams, said the property has been listed internationally for greater exposure. The property has been on the market off and on the past several years, she said.
“You just have to want a historic home,” Melvin said.
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.
The Lewis Reeve Sams house is one of several historic homes in the area to hit the market recently.
