Seven Gables burns

What a shame...I had recently taken my grandaughter there while we were on a personal tour of North Augusta's history...trying to get her to envision the Hampton Terrace was difficult...the Seven Gables helped explain the lay out of the area....sad

This is really a sad thing for North Augusta. The new owners put their heart and soul into 7 Gables and it will be missed.

Well pofwe some people see what they want.....it was a beautiful old building and will be missed by most of the folks in North Augusta. Too bad you can't see past your own nose. Have a blessed day...ya hear?

This is what happens when a company spews racism and segregation in today's society. I don't think that place ever was the same. (I am hoping however the fire was an accident). but when it's revealed when companies like this practice racism, most are usually ruined and or put out of business from the exposure of the truth.

The Seven Gables was beautiful piece of NA history. It brought national TV with it appearance on HGTV, and its loss will be felt in the culture of NA's residents. Lets be better human beings than to try to conect this building with the shortcomings of one owner. The seven gables is not tainted. You all are tainted. You let Randy put a bad taste in your mouth. Leave this racism nonsense in your mind. Don't clog up a message board where people can leave their reflections on a architectual relic.

jackfruit give it a rest for one second dear...

Beautiful building for sure, but unfortunately sullied by the human crap stains Bruce & Randy.....

the blacks who caused all that much ado about nothing trouble knew that the owners of that private business had distinct opinions as to what demographic they wished to market to.
they went there looking for trouble, not a steak dinner.
if i go down to dr. j's double door lounge on laney walker looking for trouble,i'm sure i'll find it.the cold beer will just be the excuse.

Play like thunder, so true. IF you are white, why would you want to go to any of the bars on Laney Walker. You know you will have trouble. They are black owned and patronized. There is a huge difference in where the business are located, the caliber of the people patronizing and the type of reception one would receive.

GOOD LORD it is 2008 Give it a rest people, why does it have to be about black, white, red, or blue... WE ARE 1 RACE the HUMAN RACE... none of use was around during slavery, so why are we even talking about it everyday.... We all need to let it go!!! Just remember we all have rights and treat everyone as you would want to be treated.

i eat a ma fannies and i'm white....that is some good eaten too...you need to go try it!!! they welcome you w/ a smile :)

If it's historic in the CRSA. We will push it down, burn it down or "modernize" it beyond recognition. And then we'll wonder why we can't attract visitors. Little of significance remains here. Can you say Union Station, Augusta? And playlikethunder2, your comments are right on the mark. But remember, there is no place in modern American society for honesty. So sad.........

I think that place will forever be known for it's racial divide, if the new owners rebuild, I would hope they open under a different name, if they use the same one, business might not be as good.

Wait wasn't it James Brown the owner refused to serve? Hmmmmm

Where is ma fannies?

no, most emphaticaslly it wasn't james damn brown he refused to serve....and if the knowledge that those blacks were coming to "test" him, he most likely wouldn't have reacted like he did.
damn shame a man can't deal with who he wants to....where's the civil rights in that ??????

I was a bartender at another well known bar down the street from the Seven Gables. It was better known that Bruce Salter was a rascist and would not serve blacks at anytime. If this building was to burn it should have happened when he owned it. The new owners have nothing to do with the Salters. Karma may not be so instant. I was in there recently and it truly was a beautiful building. The woodwork will never be replaced. So sad that such a beautiful building was part of an ugly past.

Was the building brought up to commercial codes by the new owners [wiring]? It was certainly in violation when owned by the Salters and when it was auctioned. Anyone remember the "Lamp Post"? A little bar/pool hall where you could win money on pin ball machines long before Video Poker came to North Augusta. The Lamp Post was owned & operated by Bruce Salter and was located where the new municipal building is being built on Ga Avenue. It is rumored that Bruce bought the Seven Gables for $50,000 in the 70's so his youngest daughter could attend high school in North Augusta since they lived on Martintown Road across the Edgefield County line and counties started enforcing residency requirements. There were some roof leaks, so Bruce had the beautiful slate roof torn off and replaced with asphalt shingles that contributed to the blaze last night. This may be the last of establishments owned by the "colorful",to say the least, Bruce Salter.

jackfruitcake (more fitting name), I had lunch at the seven gables palmetto room when it re-opend under new management and it was both very good food and ambience (look it up). I hope the new owners had fire insurance. It will be missed. Like Pofwe, too bad you can't see past the end of your nose and you abviouslsy encourage continued racism by comments like yours.

In the early 70's my mother leased the Seven Gables Inn and she resided in the "big house". I spent about six months there with her. It was one of the most unique experiences of my life. The house had so much character, and wonderful stories about it's history and the people who lived there over time. My mother has passed, but I know she would be so saddened abou this, as am I. I cannot for the life of me understand why the race card has to be brought up at this time. The structure was certainly not responsible for any of it's owners/residences views. What a tragic loss.

The place had a colorful history..... and jackfruit it did quite well,,,,,you just didn't know about it,,,lol

Nevertheless, I hope the owners pick a new name if they rebuild, surely they know, if they keep that same name, business will NOT be as good.

It's fine for pofwe and jackfruitpaper to say what their opinion is. It shows everyone what their true colors are. The history of that place was not always tainted by a racist owner, and certainly not recently. Posters can claim racism all you want, but as long as we have publications like the "Black pages" featuring ONLY black businesses, and hundreds of relatively successful organizations, with decades of longevity, who exclude anyone unless they are black, and whose names begin with the word Black, your words will continue to ring hollow. Racism, discrimination and bias are everywhere, but never is it so blatant and encouraged as in the black community. Remember the business named "Black Supremacist Nation" on Milledgeville Road? Its no longer there, right across from the DQ, and Crab King, but it certainly was a disgusting racist eyesore for the time it WAS there. Racism is wrong, no matter who it is perpetrated by. I am glad my daughter and I had a chance to sketch the 7 Gables Inn/Palmetto House before it burned. It reminded me of homes in England and Germany and had a history everyone can learn something from. It was one of North Augusta's jewels of architecture.

jackfruitpaper It DID have a new name. Palmetto House. And since 7 Gables Inn is borrowed from the book "House of the Seven Gables" even that name is not solely connected with ONE of its previous owner's criminal mischief. You don't have to bury history to learn from it. And we all need to learn from it. I would be happy with either name. 7 Gables was a very apt name considering the style of architecture. I will miss the name, but I don't miss Salter. I'm glad they caught him and I'm glad he's not around anymore. I did not frequent his business while he was running it, I had heard of his not serving blacks and that was enough to keep me from going there. And probably a lot of other caring folks, too, that otherwise would have loved to enjoy spending some time admiring that building from inside.

cbavant, it is good to hear from someone that was able to spend some time there under more positive conditions. I would have been tickled to death to explore every nook and cranny and admire the view from each window of that house. That must have been a delight for you. It is a tragic loss. Hopefully, no one lost his life in there, as far as we know, no one was there. That is a blessing. Thanks for sharing your story, too sigraci. That is the only good thing left, hearing the stories that people have to tell about their own experiences involving that structure.

Wasn't it called "The Buffalo Room" when the Salters owned it? What in the world does that have to do with the loss of a wonderful, old building. Some people just look for "wrongs" to hold on to so we can't ever move forward. What the Salters did was wrong from what I remember of the reports at the time, but if every building in this country was razed because an injustice to someone, not just blacks, occurred there, we'd have a lot of parking lots.

I also thought it was called the Buffalo Room. The fact that racism happened under a previous owner is not a valid reason to bash the building. However, saying that blacks came to the restuarant to cause trouble is crazy. All Americans have a right to dine wherever their money will allow. I do it all the time, and don't care much about the ambience. There are some who think that the appearance of an establishment should let you know what type of people they serve. I think all of that is crazy. I'm glad the racist owner was put out of business, but also wish the current owners the best as they attempt to rebuild. I don't think that a business should ever limit or restrict service to a certain demographic. In fact, I feel that my money spends just as good as anyone else's.

I hope that someone from the newspaper will do an article on its history. There are many things about the house that most people would not know. For instance, one of the upstairs rooms was completely sound proof. One room had a door that would not stay locked (it had a sliding hasp lock). Edison Marshall lived in the house and held many parties at which he greeted his guests in full military regalia, but no one could ever figure out what branch of service, or military school his uniforms came from. He was also a big game hunter, hence the buffalo heads, caribou, mountain goats, and other trophies that were found in the attic. I was told that the original structure was constructed with wooden pegs in lieu of nails. Some of the paneling and flooring in the house was California redwood. Great stories abound!

yes powfe my dad is out of prison and that "bully" you r talking is my grandpa and he is not a bully.just hope you are happy about what u said so now who is the "BULLY".you need to stop talking about other people. becouse kids see this website to and by the way i am only 12.thanks for talking about my faimly.

Way to go young Mason. Nice to see it takes a young 12 yr old man to understand this is not about what people did, but what the building meant to North Augusta.