News 12 at 6, September 10, 2008

NORTH AUGUSTA--Two pieces of North Augusta history are up for sale. Lookaway Hall and Rosemary Hall both have for sale signs in front of them. One group says keeping these homes in great shape needs to be a top priority.

Lookaway Hall and Rosemary Hall are two of the most recognizable faces of North Augusta. Faces that should be getting new owners before too long.

If you've ever driven into North Augusta on Georgia Avenue, chances are you've seen Lookaway Hall and its cousin Rosemary Hall.

"They are the history of North Augusta or at least a good percentage of it," said Lynn Thompson. Lynn has always held a special place in her heart for these two landmarks.

"They're on the cover of everything. They were here before North Augusta was formed," she said.

Lynn is the chairman of the Olde Town Preservation Association; a group dedicated to maintaining North Augusta's historical sites. Two of those sites are Lookaway and Rosemary, both of which are looking for new owners now, which isn't a surprise to Lynn.

"The problem has been, over the years, people like them and buy them to make money, but they don't have love for them," she said.

A love needed because taking care of houses this old is a never ending task. Lookaway and Rosemary were built by North Augusta's founder and his brother. They've been here forever it seems.

But now their front lawns are both dotted with for sale signs.

And with the Palmetto House catching fire last week, it's a good reminder that North Augusta doesn't exactly have historic buildings on every corner. And Lynn says that's exactly why she hopes the people who buy these two buildings will take care of them.

"We've already lost several landmarks. It'd be a shame to lose these," she said.

News 12 heard there is a possible sale in the works right now, but no more details were available. We do not know why the buildings are for sale in the first place. The owners do not live in the area and we couldn't get a comment. We do know they were listed as being in pre-foreclosure.