Historic Edgewood home narrates its tale

As the documentary "Edgewood: Stage of Southern History" begins, the camera lingers on the front steps and porch of the home that is now the Pickens-Salley House on the USC Aiken campus.

A narrator describes how a house is more than a collection of boards with walls, doors, windows and the roof that covers all of it. There's character in a dwelling that catches the spirit of those who lived their lives inside it.

"Some houses can become sanctuaries of sorts," the narrator says. "They become living monuments to new people who enter their doors. I have a door. I have a story. I have a name."

The narrator in this intriguing USCA-produced documentary is the house - originally known as Edgewood when it was built in Edgefield County in 1829 for future secessionist Gov. Francis Pickens.

The film, which premieres during a gala party at USCA Monday, March 29, focuses on two unusual women who owned the house - Pickens' wife Lucy and prominent 20th-century businesswoman and suffragette Eulalie Salley, who bought and restored the house and moved it to Kalmia Hills in Aiken. Tickets for the gala are $75 and are still available.

The DVD, which gala participants will receive, also includes several interviews with several people, including Salley's granddaughter, Sara Wood, and Douglas Culbreth of Philadelphia, the great-grandson of a slave who lived at Edgewood.

USCA Vice Chancellor Dr. Deidre Martin, the executive producer, worked on the project with director Chris Koelker and assistant director and USCA professor Dr. Maggi Morehouse. Another university staffer, Judith Goodwin, serves as the narrator.

The Pickens-Salley House is the administration building that houses the chancellor and executive boardroom. Martin has worked there for many years.

"What I think is special about this project is that it's primarily about the women who lived in this house," she said. "I often think that the history of women is not recorded in the same way. How we're looking at this is unique."

The project development got started about two years ago, and Martin marvels at all the local residents involved in the project.

"I've come to love the house and the people who lived and worked in it," she said. "That sparked my initial interest, and I find it fascinating that this house has been moved twice and never was torn town. Some folks have teased me, but the house does connect with people and makes you want to take care of it."

The house was in terrible shape when it was in Edgefield. To renovate and move it to Aiken was a costly and huge project. Something about the house captured Salley's imagination too, Martin said.

Carla Cloud, director of the Aiken Downtown Development Association, relished the opportunity to portray Salley. As she ages from 30 to 80 during the production, she wears several different wigs. Even her sister almost didn't recognize her, Cloud said with a laugh. She brought significant acting experience to the role.

"It was a lot of fun to play someone so courageous for her time," Cloud said. "She was such a champion for women and their rights."

Lucy Petway Holcombe was just 25 when she married the twice-widowed Francis Pickens and settled into Edgewood. During his administration as governor, South Carolina seceded from the union. A few years earlier, Pickens served as minister to Russia, taking his wife and children with him. Lucy Pickens would remain in the home until her death in 1899.

In the documentary, she is portrayed by Ciara Lee, and her involvement in the production could be a documentary in itself. In recent years, she actually has become Lucy Pickens for re-enactments. Lee was attending the Battle of Aiken in March 2009 when she heard about the Pickens-Salley House and the documentary and she rushed over that night to look at the house. Lee returned the next day (with Robert E. Lee!), and Koelker soon got a call to rush over.

"Here was this beautiful vision of Lucy Pickens," Koelker said in 2009. "We were so stunned and taken aback."

Koelker has extensive experience in video production and has been overwhelmed by the generosity of Aiken County residents. The film was made for no more than one-fourth of the cost one would anticipate. So many people donated their time and brought in props and costumes. The credits ran for 6 minutes.

The production team had thought about finding a prominent actress to serve the critical role of narrator. They had realized that the house itself as narrator would be an ideal vehicle, serving as an omniscient observer of the lives inhabiting it over the many decades.

Goodwin asked to audition "and Judith just blew us away," Koelker said. Goodwin has her own past life as an actress, including television commercials and community theater. She also hosted a television show called "Talk of the Day" in Augusta.

"This is really a dream for me," said Goodwin. "It's been neat to live in this beautiful house. It's such a unique building on campus, and to hear the stories of these women has been a treasure."

Morehouse specializes in African-American history, and the production resonated with her, as well. With the exception of USCA staffers Teddy and Juanita Palmer, many of the African-Americans appearing as slaves in "Edgewood" came from Morehouse's history classes.

"This recalls such a troublesome time," she said. "There are moments when we watched the scenes (on a monitor), and they were so moving. Here is history being illustrated, and we hope it will have international and statewide appeal."

J.R. Hall, a recent USCA graduate now attending graduate school at the University of South Carolina, composed the music for "Edgewood," and a CD will be produced. A current student, elementary education major Lauren Stephens, is creating a curriculum based on the documentary. Leavelle McCampbell Middle School will field-test the curriculum later in the school year.

The documentary is supported by grants from the Humanities Council of South Carolina, the South Carolina Heritage Corridor, and the Porter Fleming Foundation as well as the Julian B. Salley Jr. Pickens-Salley House Endowment at USC Aiken.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.

Want to attend?

Event: Special gala preview of the documentary "Edgewood: Stage of Southern History."

Location and time: Monday, March 29 at 7 p.m. at USC Aiken's Etherredge Center for the film. The showing will be followed by the gala event on the grounds of the Pickens-Salley House. Period food, beverages and entertainment will be provided.

* Tickets: Seats are still available at $75 per person. The ticket price includes a complimentary DVD. Of the total ticket price, $25 will benefit the continued care of the Pickens-Salley House. To obtain tickets, call the USCA advancement office at 641-3630.

* Second viewing: A public and free showing of the documentary at USCA on Tuesday, March 30, has no more tickets available. However, the film will be shown at the Aiken Center for the Arts in early June.