Let the revitalization begin

By S. Kim Henson  

MARCH 14, 2010 11:54 a.m. (1)

Narrow tree-lined streets and clusters of similar homes characterize Overbrook. The neighborhood, Greenville’s oldest suburb before city lines took it in, is off of East North Street and minutes from downtown.

Children play in their yards and a group of youngsters shoot baskets in the street since the basketball goal is on the edge of the road. That explains the speed bumps and 15 mph speed limit. A quaint home is surrounded by a white picket fence and hanging baskets on the porch. Several homeowners walk their dogs while a puppy barks from its backyard fence.

Gina Calvin, in the past 23 years, has lived in two different homes just blocks apart in Overbrook. She and her husband have bought and renovated many more. She said, “I saw the neighborhood’s potential and wanted to see it completely revitalized.”

Overbrook’s renewal began gradually around 1994. Calvin said since she was in real estate and her husband was in construction, it was logical to work in the location they had both grown to believe in and appreciate.

“Property values today are all over the place,” said Calvin, “from $95,000 to $365,000.”

Carey Starbuck, the president of Overbrook Historic District Neighborhood Association, said she learned about Overbrook from a friend in middle school.

In 2001, Starbuck and her husband bought one of the 120 homes in the area’s historic district. They pulled up carpet and redid hardwood floors, gutted the kitchen and baths and replaced blinds and lighting.

The neighborhood’s history dates back to the days of the Toonerville Trolley, Greenville’s trolley line that expanded in 1910. By 1913, a group of businessmen organized by the Woodside brothers decided the area around the newly added trolley station could support middle class housing.

John T. Woodside led the start up of Overbrook Land Company with money he and his brother made from Woodside Cotton Mill, at one time the largest textile plant in the world.

The land company bought property from Asa A. Green for $7,500 and sold a portion of it two years later to a farmer.  R.J. Rowley was probably the first to “grow” the neighborhood. He is thought to have developed the predominately Craftsman Bungalow section of Overbrook. Rowley negotiated to get rid of some of the land to a real estate company who in turn sold mostly to white collar professionals.

Midway through its development, another area of Overbrook was assessed by R.E. Dalton. Overbrook Circle was subdivided in 1922 and Franklin Smith developed larger houses on bigger lots to satisfy well-to-do home buyers. By 1924, Overbrook was fully developed and one of “the places to live.”

However, Overbrook did not maintain its status. Many of the homes became rental property over time.

Calvin bought her first house in 1987 when she was right out of college. She figured it was a “find” since it was a cute home and it fit her limited budget.

When her car was broken into in 1994, she decided it was time to move away from a neighborhood that had been on the decline The police told her she couldn’t move away from crime but she could fight it. That motivated Calvin to reach out for help from neighbors and to find ways to reclaim their locality. Calvin started a neighborhood crime watch while neighbors spruced up their long-time residences and refurbishment began on run-down homes.

“The 17-year resurgence of Overbrook has pretty much happened one house at a time,” said Calvin. Of the other historical neighborhoods in Greenville, North Main/Earle Street is probably the closest in comparison of size and value.

Acquiring the title “historic district” took two years. Juanita Johnston, born in her Overbrook home in 1917, spent days with Calvin riding the neighborhood’s roads and giving dates as best she could recall.

They had to verify enough old structures on each street to deem it credible for the historic overlay. Johnston identified every home not by address but by the name of the family who originally owned it, like “the Senator Bradley Morrah’s house.”

Most of the homes that are old enough, 50 years or more, and fit the title “historic” because they have maintained their original integrity are Craftsman Bungalows, Colonial Revivals and a subtype of that style, Dutch Colonials.

Besides aged homes there are remnants of the trolley’s overpass at one of the entrances to Overbrook off East North Street. Odd alleys behind some of the homes are leftover paths from the trolley line.

And Hessie Morrah, who started a Greenville garden club in 1951 that continues to beautify the city today, has a park in Overbrook named for her. The historic overlay designation that includes eight streets was received in 1997.

“It’s a quirky neighborhood full of diverse architecture and people. It’s a hidden gem and still so close to downtown,” she said.