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 Outside Upcountry History Museum on opening day.
The museum has been several years in the making. In fact, the dozens of volunteers who were on duty that day wore T-shirts bearing the sentence, “We’ve waited 239 years for this.” This is in reference to the appearance of the first permanent settler in the Greenville area, Richard Pearis.
The festivities began with a 10:00 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony, which was hosted by the museum’s executive director, Pam Meister. Three other individuals, mayor Knox White, County Council vice-chair Judy Gilstrap and museum board chair Bob Whitley spoke briefly as well. Three other guests of honor, Mary Sterling, Mary Simms Furman and Thomas Hartness, cut the ribbon.
At 10:30 the first tour began. Although Saturday’s introductory tours were free, tickets imprinted with the time of the tours, which were conducted every half hour, were required in order to get in. In the future, it will cost $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors and students, and $3.00 for children 4-12. Children under four get in free.
Saturday’s tours, which lasted 30-45 minutes, were expedited in order to be able to accommodate the large crowds that were expected throughout the day. Tours in the future will last one and a half to two hours. Indeed, the tour that I was on, the 10:30 tour, did provide a good but brief overview of the museum. In the future I would like to spend much more time to be able to take in all of the exhibits.
Let me stop right here for a moment and say that I have visited countless museums in my travels over the years. Some have offered grand portrayals of history, such as the Ohio Museum of History in Columbus, while others have been small, one or two room affairs that take all of ten minutes to tour. When I make my list of places that I want to see on any given trip, I generally omit the countless county-run museums that you can find in practically every county in the nation, simply because it is usually just more of the same thing.
 Inside view of Upcountry History Museum.
Two building facades share the cavernous main hall. One is titled “First National Bank.” Enter the doors to the bank and you are led, not to a bank teller, but to a theater where a top-notch 15-minute film offers a brief introduction to the county’s history. The name of the film is “Pocketbooks, Prayer Books and Datebooks: Stories of Ambition in Upcountry South Carolina.” It emphasizes the economic, religious and social history of the area. Interviews with local historians and residents, including a retired textile mill worker, along with first-rate graphics, make the film a fitting, fast-paced introduction to the rest of the museum.
After leaving the theater your first stop is the section of the museum dealing with Green-ville’s Indian and colonial history. (Although the museum has “Upcountry” in its name, the main emphasis is on Greenville County.) There is an interactive table-top map of South Carolina, with buttons that you can push to light up the different roads that led through the Upstate in the 1,700’s. The aforementioned Richard Pearis will even talk to you while you stand there.
Your next stop includes some wooden benches. But be prepared. When you sit down, early settler Mary Logan will appear and will talk to you from the front porch of her rural home. Turn to your right and you will see an actual pair of dueling pistols like the kind that would have been used in the Greenville area 200 years ago.
Walk into the next room and you will see the next major display, which deals with life in the ante-bellum period, including a storefront with the name “McBee and Irvine.” Early settler Vardy McBee will tell you his story as well.
The church is to your right. Sit down on a pew and listen to a portion of a sermon from a preacher of yesteryear.
Upon leaving the church, notice a row of touchscreens. Press the name of any of the 15 Upstate counties and a brief overview of that county’s history will appear on the screen.
Next, walk to the second floor on the curving staircase of the brick building facade and you will enter textile land. Greenville was at one time the world’s textile leader. On this floor you will also find information on the Upstate’s military tradition, as well as the period following the War Between the States. There is also a section dealing with life since World War II, including the globalization of the Upstate.
The walls of the museum are chock full of depictions of many of the area’s notable personages from the past, as well as countless information panels to keep the reader busy for quite some time.
If you care to browse the gift shop you will notice several books dealing with the area’s history, as well some pottery and artwork and, of course, the obligatory candy sticks.
Coming soon will be the introduction of an oral history studio. Upstate residents will be able to share their memories of the area for posterity. The current project of the studio is focusing on memories of World War II and how the war affected the area. On November 10 the museum will open its World War II exhibit.
The museum is a delight to the senses - sight, sound, as well as touch. Every member of the family will get something out of their visit, and, like Bill Cosby used to say, “If you’re not careful you might learn something.”
During Saturday’s daylong celebration, the grounds of Heritage Green were awash with activity. All day long, spectators were treated to a variety of demonstrations, including actors portraying people such as Richard Pearis, Mark Twain and “Kessie,” a plantation slave. Civil War “soldiers” demonstrated the proper way to shoot a cannon. Various musical groups performed throughout the day.
Perhaps the most popular demonstration of the day, however, was the troupe of Cherokee dancers, dressed to the hilt in a rainbow of colors.
A proclamation was read proclaiming this current week as “Textile Heritage Week.” Various activities will be occurring. For more information, call 235-1106.
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