PICKENS — An historic home in Pickens County is getting a new lease on life — from the bottom up.

A crew has begun raising the foundation of the Sutherland-Masters House, one of the oldest buildings in Pickens County.

“When they get through with it, it will last another 200 years,” said site manager Dot Jackson. “It’s going to take years to get the thing back to where it used to be, but that’s what we want.”

Restoring the home to its original condition has long been a goal of the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folk life, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the artistry and customs of this area.

“It’s what it represents,” she said. “It’s the focal point of preserving folklore, dwellings, whatever we can.”

Plans for the property include building a meeting house near the home, Jackson said.

“I want it to be what it always was, a servant of this community,” she said. “We want to serve the whole region. I want it to be just like it was.”

The restoration work on the home is being funded by a $26,000 South Carolina Arts Commission grant.

“It’s a bricks and mortar grant, which is really, really rare,” she said.

The grant required Birchwood Center members to match $3 for every dollar provided by the grant, though the Commission later allowed only a $2-for $1 match.

“They’ve been extremely kind to us,” Jackson said.

The fundraising deadline for the grant is June 15, and Jackson said public support has been wonderful so far.

“I’m just astonished by the amount of support we’ve been given,” she said.

During its long existence, the home has only been owned by 2 families: the Sutherlands from 1813-1914 and then the Masters family from 1914 on.

“Amos Ladd Sutherland was married to Mary Keith,” Jackson said. “These are two of the oldest families in Pickens County.”

Members of the families often visit their old home place, Jackson said.

The Birchwood Center has a variety of events planned for the summer months. June 28,

The Center will present “The Carolina Backcountry and the Revolution,” a lecture focusing on the Revolutionary War’s effect on the Upstate, 2 p.m. Sunday, June 28 at

Greenville’s Upcountry History Museum.

The Center’s annual Book and Author Fair, focusing on SC and NC artists, will be held 2 p.m., Sunday August 9 at the Table Rock State Park Lodge.

Other events include an arts and crafts fair in September, a festival featuring the works of playwright Gary Neal Carden in the spring and a writers workshop sometime this year.

Editing work has begun on the Center’s documentary film about Eastatoe, Jackson said.

Donations may be mailed to The Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife, 187 Birchwood Road, Pickens, SC, 29671.

For more information about the Birchwood Center, call 898-1418.