By Carson Lambert

clambert@civitasmedia.com

Built in the late 1800’s, the house was moved to its current location on Harper Street in 1926.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_frost1.jpgBuilt in the late 1800’s, the house was moved to its current location on Harper Street in 1926. Courtesy photos

The house features eight rooms, two chimneys and eight fireplaces.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_frost2.jpgThe house features eight rooms, two chimneys and eight fireplaces. Carson Lambert | The Newberry Observer

John Frost is hoping to have the house “dried out” (secured from the elements) by the end of the year.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_frost3.jpgJohn Frost is hoping to have the house “dried out” (secured from the elements) by the end of the year. Carson Lambert | The Newberry Observer

John Frost, left, alongside his daughter, Grace, just before closing.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_frost4.jpgJohn Frost, left, alongside his daughter, Grace, just before closing. Courtesy photos

NEWBERRY — Neglected for the last decade, the large Victorian-Era house located at 1724 Harper St. is experiencing a complete overhaul thanks to owner John Frost.

The house was constructed in the late 1800’s, likely 1893, by Mr. and Mrs. JR Green who moved their family to Newberry that year.

All told the house featured eight rooms, two chimneys and eight fireplaces.

After her husband’s death in 1916, Mrs. Green, a dress maker by trade, let rooms to boarders until her death in the 1950’s.

At that time the house was converted into a quadplex and operated in that manner for several decades before falling into disrepair.

An employee of Southern Co., Frost splits his time between North Carolina and Georgia but comes to Newberry regularly to visit his daughter, Grace, currently the sous chef at Steven W’s.

He saw the house was for sale and purchased it last summer at a tax sale with full knowledge that it “really needed some significant work.”

Among the home’s most significant ailments were rotting wood and termite damage so it was gutted to the studs and hardwood floor and the additions were subtracted.

“I tore off everything back to the original 19th century home,” Frost said.

Although he plans to keep close to the original design of the house, he said it’s not technically a restoration.

“A restoration means you bring it back to what it originally was like — with outhouses and outdoor kitchens or whatever,” he said.

Frost called what he is doing a “rehab,” which will turn it back into a single family home and add a fairly large addition to the back containing two master baths, three walk-in closets, a full kitchen, mud room, back deck and laundry area.

Originally hoping to be finished by September, Frost was “laid up” for three months this past spring due to a leg infection that spread to his bone. His leg now recovered, Frost has encountered a different road block.

“Honestly, this heat is killing me. I’m not getting much done for the next month or two,” he said.

Frost is now hoping by the end of the year or the beginning of next year to have the house “dried out,” which essentially means protected from the elements so as to be livable.

Trained in biology and genetics, Frost’s career has been spent in information technology — what he called his “bread and butter.”

However, he said he’s always enjoyed “making a lot of sawdust” in his workroom and he’s had a fair amount of experience making upgrades to places he’s lived over the years.

Planning on the house becoming a home for his daughter, Frost said he’s not doing this for financial gain — simply for the love of it and the opportunity to rehabilitate a neglected home.

“I can’t tell you the number of neighbors that have come up and want to know all about it and thank me profusely for bringing this house back and bringing the values up of the homes in the neighborhood,” he said.

Of course, Frost said, that is assuming he does a good job of it.

“I’m trying my best,” he said.

Reach Carson Lambert at 803-276-0625, ext. 1868, or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.