Exhibits

at the Sumter County Museum



"Legacy of the Gamecock"


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The Sumter Family
Christening Bowl

On January 8, 2000, the Sumter County Museum helped kick-off Sumter's Bicentennial with the opening of Legacy of the Gamecock. This exhibit focuses on the family of General Thomas Sumter, one of South Carolina's legendary partisan generals, Sumter's son Colonel Thomas Sumter, Jr., and his daughter-in-law, Nathalie DeLage Sumter.

"Legacy of the Gamecock" is the most comprehensive collection of Sumter family objects in the United States. A few of the General's personal items on display are his lap travelling desk, his Revolutionary War saber, and the 1796 portrait of Sumter by Rembrandt Peale. Also included in the exhibit is the Sumter family's christening bowl and one of the Sumter's Chippendale dining chairs. "Legacy of the Gamecock" presents a well-rounded view of the Sumter family - from their private lives to their deep belief in public service.





"Next Stop - Sumter"

This exhibit traces Sumter's close association with railroads during the 19th and 20th centuries. At a time when travel could be both difficult and slow, trains provided an essential economic and social link between South Carolina towns as well as between the state and the rest of the country. Sumter became part of a vast network of train routes running north, south, and west. Freight and passenger trains, big trains and little trains, short hops and long hauls: they all came through Sumter.

"Next Stop - Sumter" contains images and artifacts from the Atlantic Coast Line passenger depot and the Pinewood depot. Included are train schedules, an ACL railroad map, a crossing signal, and ticket stand. Through these artifacts, the exhibit examines the history of rail lines from the 1830s, with the "Best Friend of Charleston," to 1962, when the "Carolina Special" stopped running between Columbia and Charleston.

A. C. L. Passenger Station

Scarborough Collection, c1909



"Always Coca-Cola"

The Sumter County Museum opened the "Always Coca-Cola" exhibit on October 3, 2000. This exhibit, which features the W. S. Heath Collection, traces the history of both Sumter and of the Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Company from the days of the mule-drawn wagon carrying bottles of Coke down Main Street to the familiar red truck with "Coca-Cola" emblazoned on its side.

...from the days of the mule drawn wagon...

Included in the "Always Coca-Cola" exhibit are numerous photographs from the museum's archives and from W. A. "Mayor Bubba" McElveen's extensive library. Other items on display include a c1930 Vendorlator (dispenser), a c1940s electric cooler, advertisement posters, and an extensive collection of Coke memorabilia.

The W. S. Heath Collection was the gift of William S. "Bill" Heath, former president and co-owner of the Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Mr. Heath donated his collection of Coca-Cola artifacts to the museum in 1999. Long known for their generosity to the citizens of Sumter, the Heath family donated land for Swan Lake, which became the Heath Gardens, started the Community Chest in the 1940s, the forerunner of the United Way of Sumter, and supported numerous charitable organizations. Mr. Heath's generous donation to the Sumter County Museum will be on permanent display.