University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Public History Program, University of South Books and Manuscripts Carolina 7-2019 A Layered History: Interpreting Cultural Resources at Sesquicentennial State Park Kaley Brown Stephanie Gilbert Justin Harwell Zoie Horecny Maclane Hull See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/pubhist_books Part of the Public History Commons A Layered History: Interpreting Cultural Resources at Sesquicentennial State Park Description Sesquicentennial State Park is one of the most popular state parks in South Carolina and is well-known in the Columbia metropolitan area as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the urban scene. Driving through its entrance gates from busy Two Notch Road, visitors find themselves immediately in the midst of a pine forest. Past the ranger’s kiosk a winding road follows the contours of the gently rolling terrain, offering occasional glimpses of a mysterious fire tower, an evocative two-story log house, and eventually the open vista of a large lake with white concrete buildings and lawns along the shore. This beguiling patch of nature in the midst of the city has long been a place for recreation and for learning natural history in an “outdoor classroom.” Although an historical plaque notes that the park was established by the Sesquicentennial Commission, there is little at the modern park to help visitors see that the site has both natural history and a deep human history. (A couple of recently placed waysides now explain the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and a civil rights challenge in the 1960s.) This report presents some preliminary findings on the human history of the park – as well as the history of the site before it became a park. The report is divided into seven sections. The first section is the park’s current mission statement. Sections two and three present a set of “statements of significance” and “primary interpretive themes” which seek to identify important patterns of history at the site as ways to make the past meaningful to public audiences. The fourth and largest section offers fresh research on the history of Sesquicentennial State Park by “periodizing” it into five eras: the pre-park history, the role of the Sesquicentennial Commission of 1936 in creating the park, the management of the South Carolina Commission of Forestry, the ten-year struggle to desegregate South Carolina’s state parks, and the management of the South Carolina State Park Service, the current steward of the park. Section five offers ideas for how this history might be communicated to visitors in a cost-effective manner, using strategically placed QR codes in public areas and along existing walking trails. Because this is a preliminary report on park history, section six contains suggestions for further research to help guide future researchers, within or beyond the South Carolina State Park Service. The research team discovered much new information but much more can be uncovered. Lastly, section seven is an appendix with an historical timeline, bibliographies, additional information on individuals significant in the pre-park era, and a list of people who worked to establish a museum on the history of Columbia as one legacy of the Sesquicentennial commemoration. Keywords South Carolina, Park Service, public history, Sesquicentennial State Park Disciplines History | Public History Comments © University of South Carolina, 2019 Authors Kaley Brown, Stephanie Gilbert, Justin Harwell, Zoie Horecny, Maclane Hull, Kira Lyle, Helen Marodin, Jennifer Melton, Hannah Patton, Ragan Ramsey, Kate Schoen, Carlie Todd, and Paige Weaver A LAYERED HISTORY INTERPRETING CULTURAL RESOURCES AT SESQUICENTENNIAL STATE PARK PREPARED FOR THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PARK SERVICE by KALEY BROWN, STEPHANIE GILBERT, JUSTIN HARWELL, ZOIE HORECNY, MACLANE HULL, KIRA LYLE, HELEN MARODIN, JENNIFER MELTON, HANNAH PATTON, RAGAN RAMSEY, KATE SCHOEN, CARLIE TODD, PAIGE WEAVER PUBLIC HISTORY PROGRAM UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA JULY 2019 Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 Origins and Methodology of the Project ........................................................................................ 5 Section I. Current Mission Statement for the Park ......................................................................... 7 Section II. Statements of Significance ............................................................................................. 8 Section III. Primary Interpretive Themes ........................................................................................ 9 Section IV. Site History ................................................................................................................. 14 A. Pre-Park History, c. 12,000 BCE – 1937 ................................................................................ 14 B. The Sesquicentennial and the Creation of a Segregated Park, 1935 – 1941 ....................... 32 C. Management of the South Carolina State Commission of Forestry, 1940 – 1967 ............... 57 D. The Civil Rights Movement Comes to South Carolina’s State Parks, 1956 – 1966 .............. 76 E. Management of the South Carolina State Park Service, 1967 – present ............................. 88 Section V. Interpretive Products ................................................................................................. 108 A. Walking Tour: QR Codes ..................................................................................................... 108 B. Potential Wayside: “Turpentine Scarred Trees of the Park.” ............................................. 130 C. Suggested Edits to the Segregation Story Map .................................................................. 131 Section VI. Suggestions for Further Research ............................................................................. 132 Section VII. Appendices............................................................................................................... 135 A. Historical Timeline of Site History ...................................................................................... 135 B. Bibliographies ..................................................................................................................... 146 C. Pre-Park Individuals: Biographical and Genealogical Notes ............................................... 154 D. Members of the Sesquicentennial Commission of 1936.................................................... 163 1 Acknowledgments The research and writing of this report was completed by thirteen graduate students at the University of South Carolina over the Spring 2019 semester: Kaley Brown, Stephanie Gilbert, Justin Harwell, Zoie Horecny, Maclane Hull, Kira Lyle, Helen Marodin, Jennifer Melton, Hannah Patton, Ragan Ramsey, Kate Schoen, Carlie Todd, and Paige Weaver. A successful public history project necessarily draws upon the support of many people. This report has benefitted from the help of a number of individuals and organizations. First and foremost, we thank our community partner, the South Carolina State Park Service. We appreciate the support of John Wells, Park Manager at Sesquicentennial State Park. We want to single out two people, in particular: Al Hester, Historic Sites Coordinator, and Stacey Jensen, Park Interpreter at Sesquicentennial State Park. Their enthusiasm for the project at its inception and their energetic and unflagging support at every step of the way made the project possible. They oriented us to the physical landscape of the park on an initial site visit, shared their deep knowledge of the park, guided us through a workshop on statements of significance and interpretive themes, patiently answered innumerable e-mails and phone calls, participated in a public forum on our preliminary findings, and reviewed and commented on a draft of this report. Al Hester has been thinking about the history of the park – and the pre-park history of the site – for some time, and he very kindly shared his pre-park research notes, scanned manuscript materials, and photocopies of published works on state park history. In addition, three other members of the South Carolina State Park Service have been supportive and generous with advice: Terry Hurley, Chief of Resource Management and Interpretation, and Joy Raintree, Regional Chief for the Sandhills Region. Both offered feedback at the public forum and suggestions for the format for the QR codes. Archaeologist David Jones shared his expertise with us as we attempted to identify the locations of several 19th-century buildings that pre-dated creation of the park. Our classmate Kate Schoen, who works with Al Hester at the State Park Service, an invaluable conduit for communicating research leads and questions between State Parks and the students in the class. The records housed at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History were essential to telling this story. For directing us to numerous promising research sources and generously sharing their knowledge of state government and the history of South Carolina, we are indebted to Steven D. Tuttle, Director of Archives and Records Management; Bryan Collars, Electronic Records and Digital Collections archivist;