International Paper says Kensington will be reopened for tours
International Paper not only pledges to repair water damage to historic Kensington Mansion but also plans for the 19th-century architectural masterpiece to reopen to public tours.
Kim Wirth, a spokeswoman for the Memphis, Tenn.-based company, made those commitments Monday night to a crowd of about 75 at Eastover Park that included many Lower Richland community and political leaders. Many in the crowd had grown increasingly concerned in recent months as International Paper left roof leak damage unrepaired and ended a contractual arrangement with a nonprofit group that furnished and led tours of the mansion.
No representative from International Paper showed up at a similar community meeting in Columbia two weeks ago, further raising angst among conservation advocates. Wirth said the final corporate decisions to make the costly repairs – early estimates were $750,000 – and find a way to re-open the mansion to tours were made in the past two weeks.
Only last year, the maintenance of the mansion was moved from the Wateree River paper mill’s budget to the corporate office budget. That switch, prompted by the costs and complications of maintaining the mansion, slowed the response to the damage, she said.
“We’ll admit that there was a pause in communications,” Wirth said. “We are a company that is diligent and thoughtful. ... (But) we are absolutely committed to making those repairs. We’re not walking away from Kensington. We’re not walking away from our obligation.”
Repairs should start by the end of the year and take 12 to 18 months. The process involves more than fixing leaks because intricate molding and plaster walls have been damaged.
Wirth also said the mansion, one of the pillars of a growing Lower Richland tourism effort, will be open to the public again. The company plans to look for a third party with a long-term interest in the home. Whether the mansion could be sold or a group could manage it for the company remains to be determined, but the company knows it needs help.
“We’re great paper makers; we’re not historical preservationists,” Wirth said.
Backers of the Save Kensington group were relieved but not satisfied after the meeting. They still want the company to do a better job of communicating its plans, and they hope those plans include preservation of a slave dwelling also on the property.
“At least we opened the doors,” said former County Councilwoman Bernice Scott. “If we had known this before, we wouldn’t have all this uproar.”
Built in 1854, the mansion was the centerpiece of the Singleton family’s Headquarters Plantation. Matthew Richard Singleton, who had spent time in Europe, asked architects Edward Jones and Francis Lee to design a home in the Italianate Revival style. It was in poor shape when Union Camp bought it and surrounding property in 1981 for a new paper mill. Union Camp, which was purchased by International Paper in 1999, spent nearly $1 million to renovate the mansion.
The building had been open intermittently for tours for more than 20 years before being shut down because of the leak damage after an ice storm in February 2014.
This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "International Paper says Kensington will be reopened for tours."