Travelers Rest History Museum

Last Sunday, I finally had a chance to visit the Travelers Rest History Museum run by the Travelers Rest Historical Society. The museum has been open since late August on Saturdays and Sundays, but I usually have other commitments those days. But not this day.

The museum is located at 3 Edwards Street, just south of downtown Travelers Rest in the area where U.S. 276 and U.S. 25 briefly mingle. The Swamp Rabbit Trail passes by a few feet away, and their parking lot also doubles as Swamp Rabbit Trail parking.

When I arrived, some kind of event was being held on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Police were stationed at road crossings directing traffic while joggers (all women from what I could tell) were headed north up the trail.

According to a historical society meeting about the building I attended and summarized on a plaque by the front door, the building was originally a grocery store on Main Street and moved to its present location in 2010. Bricks for the building came from the former Travelers Rest High School, razed in 2011. The bricks were cleaned and then stored in a society member's basement until it was time for them to be laid. On October 12, the historical society held a grand opening celebration for the museum with a ribbon cutting, speeches, and food.

The museum is rather small with several exhibits. I'm told by the attendants the exhibits will be changed out about every six months. Regular readers will not be surprised when I say I looked over the Swamp Rabbit Railroad exhibit first.

I thought the other exhibits were also interesting. These exhibits provided a sense of what life was like during various times of Travelers Rest area history.

I certainly enjoyed the visit, and I plan to return sometime after they've rotated in some new exhibits. Fellow adventurer Tom Taylor found time to visit the museum a few weeks before I could. He found a different set of volunteers than I encountered, otherwise our experience was similar.
After leaving, I walked the Swamp Rabbit Trail from the museum north to Travelers Rest, and then back. On this Sunday afternoon, I can report the trail was definitely in use.

Next, I headed down for a brief visit to the Children's Graveyard to see for myself what all the fuss has been about lately. I heard the owner has been clearing the land in and around the cemetery, and some people are understandably concerned about the fate of the cemetery. But I'll show and tell about that next time.

View my photo set on Flickr or my photo album on Google Photos.