Hamilton House to reopen two years after arson

“Do not remember the the past events, pay no attention to the things of old. Look I am about to do something new ...”

These words are etched on a plaque that hangs near the back entrance of the newly rebuilt Hamilton House Antiques, which was destroyed by arsonists two years ago.

The owner, David Hamilton, said he chose the words from the Bible’s book of Isaiah because it represents where he’s been and where he is now as a business owner.

The plaque is strategically placed so that it’s first thing customers who haven’t shopped at the store since it burned Nov. 10 2007, will see.

The store will re-open Tuesday, the anniversary of the day Hamilton watched his livelihood be reduced to cinders.

Hamilton didn’t plan for it to happen that way. He wanted to open Halloween because that’s when he opened his business at 320 S. Dargan St. in 2000.

“I aimed for that but my dad said, ‘We haven’t even got half of this stuff out of this warehouse … we’re going to need another week or so.’”

Among the many who have shown support for Hamilton is Florence Mayor Stephen J. Wukela, who will host a ribbon cutting ceremony on the Hamilton House’s front porch Tuesday.

A week before the re-opening, Hamilton and his father worked quietly and diligently to prepare the rooms for returning customers.

“We are stocking the shop with some of the things that made it through the fire and we are stocking the shop with some things I’ve purchased over the last two years,” Hamilton said. “And we’re stocking it a lot of consignment pieces coming in.”

Consignment is a good option for his business, especially at this stage, Hamilton said.

“I have some really fine pieces, like that beautiful desk back there in the back corner (of the shop),” he said. “It probably dates back to 1790 or 1780. I would normally not even get a chance to buy something like this.”

The shop also still has some of the unique pieces Hamilton is known for selling. Less than 10 percent of his current merchandise is from before the fire, he said. Many of the pieces that made it were so damaged by water from the sprinkler system that it couldn’t be salvaged.

Water was the main adversary of the store’s antiques, not the fire, Hamilton said. The fire mostly was contained to building’s attic, which caused the roof to collapse.

“We had very little fire. The only room that had fire in it was the room where the (arsonists) started the fire,” he said. “I’ve sold every piece that burned. I had one great big beautiful painted bench from Brazil. I sold that.”

Hamilton said he had the option to just walk away and start his business elsewhere. But he’d been operating out of the house, the oldest structure on South Dargan Street, for almost a decade and didn’t want to go anywhere else.

“The house was a real labor of love for my whole family and it was something I was content with,” Hamilton said just after the fire. He likened watching the house burn to holding an old friend’s hand while he lies dying.

Skilled craftsman were able to restore many of the unique characteristics of the house Hamilton said he’d come to love and appreciate.

The molding where the wall meets the ceiling was restored by way of a heavy pressed vinyl product from England.

Through meticulous work, Hamilton and his father took surviving samples of the original crafting, tagged it and later put the same patterns back in the rooms where they previously existed.

“We tried to photograph everything before they tore it down, took it apart and ripped it away,” he said.

Hamilton said he preserved some things, but made some changes to the house, as well.

“We opened some of the fireplaces up that were previously bricked in. It makes it look a little more real,” he said.

The home’s tower that overlooks South Dargan Street received new stained glass. And hanging a star in the tower during the holidays is a Hamilton House tradition, Hamilton said.

“When you walk out the (Florence) Little Theatre front door, in that little circle, it’s the perfect view of my business,” he said. “Before I left for the show on (Oct. 30) at the theatre, I ran upstairs and took a table and plugged it in up there so all the stained glass would show. It did just the trick I wanted it to. Several people came out during intermission and said ’Are you open? I see the light.’”

Hamilton said he’s looking forward to the official reopening and wants to put the arson behind him.

“I am a Christian, and I do have faith that God will look out for me. I can’t explain why I’ve gone through this and I don’t have to know,” he said. “But I do know, I’ve never had any other indication that I needed to do anything else, to go anywhere else.”