Canton couple renovates
100-year old home
By Ethan Johnson
Jenn and Nathan Johnston knew they had their work cut out
for them when they decided to renovate an almost 100-year old
home on East Main Street in Canton back in 2016.
They previously lived in the Providence Point area when
they were looking to move into an older style house, however
they were having trouble finding a suitable home. They heard
about the house they now call home and became interested in
renovating it.
“We always wanted to live in an older home,” Jenn Johnston
said. “We saw that this house was for sale so we decided to
take it on and renovate it in December of 2016. We moved in
May of 2018.”
Nathan has lived in Canton his whole life. His wife, Jenn,
grew up in Alabama and has lived in Canton since 2009 their
renovation won an award from the Cherokee County Historical
Society in 2019.
When they decided to move into this house, they knew that
there was plenty of work that needed to be done. The house was
in bad shape with several problems that needed fixing.
“From what we were told, the previous homeowners had let
the house sit here for six years with no work done or anything,”
Nathan said.
Nathan said that during one of their first visits to the house,
they found a dog sitting on an old couch in the dark. On top
of a random couch dog, he also said that he believed some
20 CHEROKEE LIFE | MARCH - APRIL 2020
Jenn &
Nathan
Johnston
teenagers would come and
hang out in the abandoned
house from time to time.
This renovation project has
come a very long way in the
three years since it began, with
several changes made to make
the house livable.
“It took us a while to get the house to this point,” Jenn
said. “There were holes in the floor, one of the toilets was falling
into the floor and the kitchen ceiling was rotten and had a big
hole in it. It was scary at first because the house was in rough
shape, but we could see the potential of the house and it is
coming along nicely.”
The Johnston’s decided that it was best to repair all of the plaster
and to refinish the original floors. They also kept all of the original
windows because of the design and historic significance of them.
“We really liked how the windows looked and we were also
able to get the historic tax credit,” Jenn said. “We wanted to keep
as much of the original house as we could.”
The layout of some of the rooms that used to be bedrooms
make it so that the three of them are connected by doors,
resembling something you may see in a hotel.
“We kept the majority of the original doorways throughout the
house as well as the three doors that connect the three rooms,” said