RIDGEWAY – The Town of Ridgeway will hold a grand opening for the Isaac C. Thomas Historical Museum on Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The museum, according to Ridgeway Town Historian Jongy Ward, tells the story of Ridgeway’s community, commerce and culture.
As that story goes… the museum building, originally located at the corner of Palmer and Church Streets, housed the Thomas Company mercantile store of 1885. The store was operated by Isaac C. Thomas, the uncle of Robert W. Thomas who still lives in Ridgeway.
The building was later log rolled, pulled by mules, down the hill from its original corner location to its current location at 130 Church Street. The Thomas Company then erected a new brick building at the Palmer and Church Streets site. That building, today, houses the popular Laura’s Tea Room, and the original building sits behind the Tea Room.
Last year, Lee Thomas gifted the building to the Town for use as a museum.
Funds to rehabilitate the building into a museum came from several sources: the Thomas family, Town of Ridgeway hospitality tax fund grants, AARP funds, and the Town of Ridgeway general fund. The total renovation costs or the amounts from the various sources were not available.
A museum committee consisting of Ward, Pelham Lyles, Eddie Woods, Phyllis Guiterrez, Tina Johnson, Charlene Herring and Sara Robertson secured historical memorabilia, did extensive research and documentation, and designed the displays and collections. The museum sign was created and donated by John Crisp.
While some of the exhibit items were brought from the upstairs ‘town museum’ in the Century House (town hall) on Dogwood Avenue, the majority of the large collection now on display was provided or loaned to the museum by Ridgeway residents.
Artifacts, furnishings and memorabilia include a large wall mounted plat of early Ridgeway; a telephone operator’s switchboard; an antique post office desk complete with early Ridgeway pieces of mail; original store memorabilia that includes a cheese cutting tool; early Ridgeway water bills; a log cabin replica hand crafted and on display at the South Carolina bicentennial; an exhibit highlighting famous Ridgeway residents, including an original jersey that belonged to Ridgeway softball standout Mamie ‘Peanut’ Johnson and stories and photographs of former Ridgeway resident and astronaut Frank Culbertson, Jr.; a pot belly stove, Flo Blue China from the Coleman House, ledgers from the original Thomas Company store and documents from the 1900s; an extensive display of handmade quilts including the Arts on the Ridge quilt; and many more artifacts.
Plans for the museum include monthly presentations, free and open to the public. The first of which is a program by Penny Renwick discussing the role of women in the American Revolution. The presentation will honor the 250th anniversary of the revolution and will be held at the museum at 4 p. m., Oct. 28. Other programs planned include the Silver Lady, an arts and crafts show, local citizens sharing Christmas in Ridgeway stories and Pastor Eddie Woods sharing history of the African American Heritage in Ridgeway.
Initially, the museum will be open during special town events and by reservation and appointments. Attendance by groups is encouraged. The museum will be closed during Pig on the Ridge, but will be open for Holidays on the Ridge.
For more information about the museum call 803-337-3316 or 803-337-2213.
