The Hartsville Museum celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2020. This was certainly a year of history that won’t soon be forgotten. In the beginning, plans were made for a calendar year filled with exciting engagements, outreach opportunities, and new ideas brought by a new and eager staff at the Museum.
Just three months into the year, staff quickly began to realize that year number 40 for the Museum would look very different than the rest as they closed the doors on March 16th for what most only expected to be a couple of weeks. Instead, threats of COVID-19 spreading throughout the world meant that the Hartsville Museum would close its doors for nearly three months.
Recent donations include ribbons and buttons from the Odd Fellows.
Many would assume that being closed for three months would mean that museum staff would be living the life, working from home, coming in and occasionally dusting off some artifacts. However, this was so far from the truth for the staff at the Hartsville Museum. Andrea Steen, Museum Manager, and Matt Winburn, Museum Assistant Manager, divided and conquered tasks and buildings at the recommendation of City Administration. Matt spent his time in the Collections Room located inside of the Edition and updated records, organized, and cataloged the collection of more than 13,685 artifacts. Andrea made her home in the Museum and worked through projects there while making virtual appointments with community members about big projects that would soon be coming to the Museum.
The COVID-19 pandemic didn't slow down Museum staff and that momentum will continue through 2021 and even the next 40 years of the Hartsville Museum. The community should be on the lookout for great things as staff looks to make the Museum a fun and educational place that everyone feels welcome to visit in the new year!
We hope that as you take the journey through this newsletter, you will choose to join us in preserving Hartsville's history for the next 40 years.
Meeting the Community Where They Are in 2020
In efforts to fulfill the educational aspect of our mission and in celebration of the museum’s 40th Anniversary, staff launched a new monthly lecture series. While the lecture was not intended to be a virtual initiative, the rise of COVID-19 made museum staff reevaluate plans for the lecture series. What was intended to be an in-person format, slated to launch in March 2020, instead became a virtual series via Facebook Live with a start date of September.
The purpose of this series is to help tell stories of Hartsville’s rich history. While the focus of the lecture series is to tell the stories of important figures or entities from Hartsville, the series often reaches beyond city limits and highlights important, historical aspects from surrounding communities.
These stories, while not limited to Hartsville, help develop a better-rounded picture of a specific period of history! All lectures can be viewed at your convenience by visiting hartsvillemuseum.org. If you have a suggestion for a lecture or would like to present, please reach out to us!
A screenshot from the Lecture Series discussion of The Negro Motorist Green Book.
Our Newest Exhibits
A Museum for All
In the beginning of the pandemic, the Hartsville Museum received a phone call that shaped the focus for the remainder of the year and certainly the foreseeable future. A representative from the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows contacted the Museum about a collection of historic documents that were housed in a church in Hartsville. These documents contained records from Hartsville and the entire state of South Carolina that predate most death certificates in the state for African Americans. Fast forward several months through the pandemic, a joint effort from Museum staff, volunteers, and Odd Fellows representatives led to a temporary loan of these historic documents to the Hartsville Museum where they will be safely kept and digitized ensuring that they are preserved forever. Receiving these documents has opened many doors already for the Hartsville Museum.
The H.H. Butler exhibit was made possible by a generous donation from the Odd Fellows. These items came from Mt.Pisgah Presbyterian Church located on Sixth Street in Hartsville, SC.
In November, the South Carolina Humanities Department awarded a major grant of $10,000 to the Hartsville Museum towards the H.H. Butler and Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Digitization project to make these records available in digital form online. The timing of this project was impeccable and the Hartsville Museum looks forward to seeing this project to fruition and focusing on ensuring that the Museum is representative and welcoming to all!
About Us
Andrea Steen, Museum Manager
Andrea Steen joined the Hartsville Museum in 2016 and was promoted to the Museum Manager in August 2019. Andrea's passion for the community that she has lived in for the past past 15 years brought her to the Hartsville Museum originally, but the love that she has for preserving history and listening to the stories Behind each and every artifact has kept her in the Museum. Her diverse group of creative talents serve the Museum well as she works to design unique and eye-catching exhibits with her team. Andrea's years of traveling and community involvement combined with her passion, energy and enthusiasm have helped her create new exhibits and tours for the museum, keeping history alive, fun, and relevant for today.
Matt Winburn, Museum Assistant Manager
Matt Winburn joined the Hartsville Museum as Museum Assistant Manager in January of 2020. A native of Hartsville, SC, Matt has enjoyed watching his hometown flourish into the bustling city it has become. Having grown up immersed in the arts, Matt has been able to refine his creative efforts into a meaningful skill set which he loves to apply towards his duties at the Hartsville Museum. Matt is proud to work for an organization that values diversity and inclusion, and makes it a priority to ensure everyone who visits the museumfeels welcomed and finds themselves represented here. Matt is also passionate about making sure that everyone has access to the arts, to history, and to the museum, by creating programs that are community-based and that make use of easily accessible digital technologies.
Hartsville Museum Commission Members
Dr. Mac Chapman, Chair
Sue Brand, Vice Chair
John Nichols, Jr., Treasurer
Paula Alvarez Judi Elvington
Phyllis Fields
Jennifer Heusel
Colin Hungerpiller
Davita Malloy
Mayor Mel Pennington
City Manager Daniel Moore
Hartsville Museum Foundation Members
Dr. Mac Chapman, Chair
John Nichols, Jr., Treasurer
Judi Elvington
Edgar H. Lawton
Kathy D. Moore
Charles Sullivan
Museum Administrative Assistant
Ardie Arvidson
A Journey Forward
The Hartsville Museum depends on generous donors like you to continue the journey forward. It is important to remember that while financial contributions are a huge part of that, there are also additional opportunities to help the Hartsville Museum if you are unable to donate funds. The Museum is always accepting volunteers to assist with projects that are happening. Donations of artifacts are also accepted and appreciated on an as needed basis.
Your donations will help purchase supplies such as:
Acrylic Label Blocks
Archival Plastic Storage Boxes
Clam Shell Boxes
Shelving with Rolling Casters
Plastic Storage Containers
Acrylic Stands for Exhibits
Bookcases with Adjustable Shelves
Hard Bound 3-Ring Binders
Steamer
Pegboard
Artifacts Wish List for 2020
Halloween Costumes circa 1950-1990's from Collegeville, Ben Cooper, and H. Halpern Company
Big Wheel circa 1970's by Louis Marx and Company
Apple iPod, First Generation
Bomb Shelter Civil Defense Supplies
Boys or Girls Banana Seat Bike, Schwinn or Huffy
Time Clock Card Rack for Storing Time Cards
Windup Tin Toys circa 1900's - 1960's
Political Campaign Buttons
Mid-Century Goddess Oil Drip Lamp
Artifacts from Old Hartsville Businesses
Old Maps depecting Hartsville and Surrounding Areas
75th Anniversary Diamond Key from J.L. Coker's Department Store
Red Emergency Phone (No Dial Face)
As we work to enhance our African American Heritage exhibit through the grant received from SC Humanities, we are seeking artifacts from Hartsville’s African American community that will help capture history and expand the museums narrative; specifically, we are looking for photographs, programs, uniforms, manuscripts, and letters tied to significant historical events and personalities, and oral history that may have been passed down about life in Hartsville.
Contribution Levels
The Major: $1000+
Heritage: $500-599
Patron: $300-499
Showcase: $150-299
Sustainer: $50-149
Individual: $25-49
Donations can be made securely online or mailed to the Hartsville Museum Foundation:
Hartsville Museum Foundation
PO Box 431
Hartsville SC 29551
