Historic Place and Museums of South Carolina

Abbeville Opera House Early in this century, Abbeville was a center of activity for western South Carolina. Many "road companies" toured from New York to Atlanta, with the Opera House as an overnight stop. Between 1908 and 1913, Abbevillians enjoyed approximately 260 live performances on the magnificient Opera House stage. The theater offered a rich variety of shows for all tastes, from The Clansman (complete with a troup of cavalry horses), and Fagg's Famous Lady Minstrels to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and opera such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Life Long fans of the Opera House attest to appearances by legendary performers Fanny Brice and Jimmy Durante. Beginning with the appearance of moving pictures as early as 1910, Opera House audiences enjoyed a unique companionship between live theater and motion pictures. A partial listing indicates that over 3250 moving pictures played in the theater from 1914 to 1930. During this time, articles in the local press showed public concern over whether or not these films were wholesome and over the manners exhibited by the audiences. With musicians and full sound effects, silent movies still had some of the glamour of live theater. But beginning with The Jazz Singer, the "talkies" replaced live entertainment with sound track recording, and the magic of show business became the routine of canned entertainment. As the theater declined, Abbeville's influence as a cultural center was also fading. The Opera House remained a movie theater until the late fifties, when it joined many other grand "movie houses" who were losing money and were forced to close. Also in the late 1950's, a group of supporters formed under the leadership of George W. Settles for the purpose of preserving live theater in upstate South Carolina. Organized in 1958 as the Abbeville Community Theater (A.C.T), the group dedicated itself to preserving legitimate theater for Abbeville and the surrounding region, and staged productions in the old Chestnut Street School for the next decade. Ten years later, A.C.T. visualized the potential in the abandoned Opera House and mounted a community-wide campaign as the first step in restoring this grand old theater. To celebrate the return of The Opera House to its original purpose, Thornton Wilder's Our Town was presented on stage in May, 1968. Since then, the theater has provided a home for over 20 years of Winter Season productions. Soon after its restoration the Opera House once again began to draw attention to Abbeville. In 1970-'71 both the American Community Theatre Association and the American College Theatre Association held the south eastern competitions in the Opera House. These events brought the best of the college and community theaters to perform on Abbeville's stage as well as famous theatre personages to act as judges and reviewers. Sponsors of the events included such famous names as American Airlines, American Express, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. With the increase in tourism in this region, the Opera House began Summer Theater Season in 1978. In 1979, a professional touring theater company led by Michael Genevie, established residence at the Opera House - the first since 1917. Today the Opera House is fully restored to its turn-of-the-century condition with two exceptions - the addition of air conditioning and rocking chair seats. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the theater uses the same rope pulled rigging systems as in 1908, and is the only "Hemphouse" remaining in South Carolina. Performance information is available from the Box Office at (864) 366-2157. Burt Stark Mansion - located at 400 North Main St., Abbeville, SC Templeton-Drake Log House - located in Abbeville, SC Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site - located at 181 Redcliffe Road, Beech Island, Aiken Co., SC Anderson County Museum - located at 202 E. Greenville St., Anderson, Anderson Co., SC Beaufort Arsenal Museum - was the home of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery which traced its formation to an earlier company organized in 1776 and served in the Revolutionary War - located at 713 Craven St., Beaufort, Beaufort Co., SC Bob Jones University - located at 1700 Wade Hampton Blvd. - Greenville, Greenville Co.,South Carolina Parris Island Museum - located at in Beaufort Co. It has dispalys of the history of Parris Island from 1564 to the present. They also exhibit monuments to 1564 Huguenot pioneer Jean Ribaut, the flag-raising on Iwo Jima and the Iron Mike monument. York W. Bailey Museum - located in the Historic Cope Industrial Building in Beaufort. Mr. Bailey was a Penn School graduate and the first African American Medical doctor to serve St. Helena and neighboring islands. Berkeley Museum - located within the Old Santee Canal Park in Berkeley Co., SC. It has over 12,000 years of the region's history. Stony Landing House - located within the Old Santee Canal Park in Berkeley Co., SC. The plantation house was built abt. 1843 in Charleston by John H. Dawson, who acquired the land in 1839. In 1861, the property was in the possession of Dr. St. Julien Ravenel of Charleston. He was a physician, and noted for his scientific endeavors. He gave up medicine and later discovered limestone as an application for soil. Best Friend Museum, Charleston National Railway Historical Society - located in Charleston, Charleston Co., SC. Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens - located off of Long Point Rd, in Mt. Pleasant, Charleston Co., SC. Known as one of American's oldest working plantations. Charles Pinckney National Historic Site - located at 1254 Long Point Rd. in Mt. Pleasant, Charleston, SC. Charles Pinckney was a principal author and a signer of the United States Constitution. Mr. Pinckney has been called the 'forgotten founder' because his significant contributions to the founding of the nation have been overshadowed by those of other early statesmen. Charleston Museum - loacted in Charleston Co., SC. Founded in 1773 and is known as American's First Museum. Citadel Archives and Museum - located in Charleston Co., SC. Confederate Museum - located at 188 Meeting St., Charleston, Charleston Co., SC. Drayton Hall Historic Plantation House - located at 3380 Ashley River Road, Charleston, Charleston Co., SC. Drayotn Hall is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the U.S. Heyward-Washington House 1772 - located in the downtoow historic district of Charleston. This brick double house was built in 1772 by rice planter Daniel Heyward as a town-house for his son, Thomas Heyward, Jr. The city rented it for George Washington's use during the President's week-long Charleston stay in May 1791. It's been called the Heyward-Washington House since that time. Thomas Heyward, Jr. (1746-1809) was a patriot leader, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and an artillery officer with the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He was captured when the British took Charleston in 1780, exiled to St. Augustine, Florida, then exchanged in 1781. It became a museum in 1929 and was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Joseph Manigault House - located in downtown Charleston. Designed by architect Gabriel Manigault for his brother, Joseph, this three-story brick town-house has the architectual style of Adam or Federal. The Manigaults descended from French-Huguenots who came to America to escape persecution in Europe. Joseph owend plantations, sat in the state legislature, and was a trustee of the College of Charleston. Gabriel also owned plantations and commercial investments. He is credited with designing Charleston's City Hall and the South Carolina Society Hall. History and Arts Museum - located at 301 College Dr., Gaffney, Cherokee Co., SC. Newberry Opera House - located in Newberry, Newberry Co., SC. McKissick Museum, College of Arts and Sciences - located at 816 Bull Street, Columbia, Columbia Co.,South Carolina 29208 South Carolina State Museum - located in Columbia, Columbia Co., SC.  The State Museum showcases outstanding exhibits of South Carolina art, history, natural history, science and technology.

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