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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joy Bigger Sanderson says she’s fighting to keep the home built by her great grandfather — from getting torn down.
What You Need To Know
James Bigger built the “blue house” located at 233 Catamount Drive in Clover, S.C. in 1846
Rinehart Realty listed it for sale as a commercial property and a “great opportunity for development”
His great-granddaughter Joy Bigger Sanderson started a petition to save it from getting torn down and turned into a commercial business
Born and raised in Charlotte, Sanderson’s family’s roots run deep in York County.
Now, she’s bracing to say goodbye to the last standing home he built, just half a mile up the road from her bakery. The land in Clover, South Carolina where the three-bedroom home sits is selling for $1.6 million as a commercial property.
“This is in the blue house in the living room, because you can see the big doors that are there,” she said, pointing to a black-and-white photo.
The "blue house," as her family calls it, is up for sale and could be torn down. The current owner, Rinehart Realty, listed it for sale on its website as a commercial property and a “great opportunity for development.”
“It’s just special because it’s family,” Sanderson said.
She started a petition on change.org to preserve the home. And, even though she knows the next owner can turn it into a strip mall if they want, she’s hoping the petition gives pause.
Sanderson drives past this house on the way to work every day. Built in 1846, it holds centuries of her family history.
It’s this legacy she wants the buyer to preserve. She says much of the other historic properties in the area have been replaced recently with strip malls and grocery stores, erasing important landmarks and city treasurers.
“My grandma would bring me down to the farmhouse on the weekends to go down to the peach tree and pick peaches,” she said. “None of this was here.”
She only stepped foot inside the blue house in 2020 but learned a lot about it from older relatives.
“This is how they would get in and out of the buggies,” she laughed as she hopped off a rock in front of the blue house.
Even though she doesn’t have any personal memories inside the house, she says saving the house is bigger than her.
“It’s my family history, but it’s York County’s history,” she said. “Something that needs to be taken care of for future generations.”
Spectrum News 1 reached out to Rinehart Realty for comment on the potential future of the blue house but has not heard back.
Sanderson says green space is also in jeopardy because of all the new construction in York County, threatening the environment surrounding the house.
But, a county ordinance protects some of the large trees on the property, preventing the new owner from tearing them down.
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