September 5, 2008

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C.---The historic Palmetto House at Seven Gables in North Augusta has burned to the ground.

The call went out to firefighters around 10:30 Thursday night after reports of smoke and fire. When crews arrived on Georgia Avenue, they saw flames coming out of the roof. It didn't take long for the fire to spread to the entire building. You could see flames from downtown Augusta.

The building is a total loss. No one was hurt.

Firefighters were stationed in the streets around the Palmetto House to make sure none of the embers spread to other homes in the area.

It was built in 1903 by North Augusta's founder as a hunting lodge.

It was also he Old Hampton Terrace Hotel, which also burned to the ground at the turn of the century.

The building has since served as a private home and restaurant, but Seven Gables stood vacant for many years when the government seized it from a drug dealing owner in the mid 1990's.

It recently came under new ownership and was operating as a restaurant, open Monday through Friday for lunch. You could also rent it for special occasions.