40 S Lafayette St

This graceful South Carolina home, designed in the Beaux-Arts style, was built in 1895 on land owned by the founder of the town - ''Squire'' Matthew Peterson Mayes. He established the town immediately after his service during the War of 1812 and later signed South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession December 20th, 1860. Mayes's grandson, Robert James Mayes, built this home shortly after graduating from South Carolina College in 1892. Today the home bears the name Glen Eberly, in honor of South Carolina author and historian William Gilmore Simms.Sitting on five landscaped acres along S. Lafayette Street, Glen Eberly is adorned with custom molding, original leaded-glass windows, crystal chandeliers, and custom-made Scalamandre draperies.The kitchen boasts a commercial-grade Viking cooktop and oven, as well as heart-pine wood floors throughout. In the two front rooms and dining room, hand-painted, marbleized columns sit against marble fireplaces. There are eight fireplaces - four in downstairs formal rooms and one in each of the four upstairs bedrooms. The recently renovated fourth floor contains original frosted glass, exposed brick columns, and a study. It opens outward to a front balcony, which offers a full survey of the surrounding garden and grounds. The grounds are graced by sasanquas and camellias, a cast iron fountain, and an in-ground pool and bricked terrace surrounded by magnolia trees, flowering crepe myrtles, and palms. This mature landscaping not only lends privacy but also provides a peaceful setting to enjoy the South Carolina summers. The pool's brick pathways sit beside an antebellum cabin, moved onto the property in the early twentieth century and restored as a guesthouse with full bath, full kitchen, and two original fireplaces. The one bed/one bath cottage represents 800 sq. ft. of the total.