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Banksia Is New Site For MusuemWorkers are preparing a wing of the Banksia Mansion (The Aiken County Library building) for the February opening of the Aiken County Museum. Photo by SteveHaleBids will be taken on November 29 for the inside renovation of theAiken County HistoricalMuseum to be located on the Banksia property. Construction is expected to last approximately two months and the museum is scheduled to re-open in February.The museum was forced out of its previous home, the old county jail, when the jail was targeted for destruction. The new Judicial Center will then be built on the old site.Joyce Ross, Director of the Historical Museum, said that although they had put “a great deal ofCulturalAIKEN -- The first Cultural Series of USC-Aiken starts with blaring trumpets on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. in the Student Activites Building when the “Saturday Brass Quintet” comes to town. Five events are scheduled in the series, which will bring outstanding talent to the Aiken area.Steve Rosenberg, one of the world’s foremost recorder players, will appear Dec. 1. Others in the series include the North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Catholic University’saNational Players.Subscribers tickets are $25 and Patrons are $50. Each fee covers the cost of tickets to the five scheduled events for one person, and Patrons will receive preferential seating. Interested persons may send their tax-free donations to USC-A Cultural Series of 1983-84, 171 University Parkway, Aiken, S.C. 29801.time and money into improving the old j ail, ’ ’ theywere happy with the move. ‘‘This old building was a jail and it retained the flavor of a jail. We are very excited about having a museum in a house instead of a jail,” she said.The Banksia property was owned by Mrs. Hariett Townsend in 1894. Ownership later transferred to the Harrington family and then to Mr. Charles Howe. Howe was 60 when he acquired possession of the house. He moved the existing house down to the crest of the hill and built a brick addition onto it. ‘‘Mr. Howe was a superstitiousman. He felt that it wasbad luck for someone his age to build a new home, ’ ’ explained Mrs. Ross. The addition consisted of 32 rooms, 15 baths, and one full-sized ballroom. Willis Irvin designed the addition.After Howe’s death, thehouse was used for boarding rooms by the Savannah River Plant in its early construction days. In1957, SouthernMethodist College purchased the property. In 1961, the property was acquired by the Aiken Commission on Higher Education. USC-Aiken made its home there until the university could be built. The last and present resident of the addition is the Aiken County Library. In February, the Historical Museum will move into the original house.The house is currently in the process of being repainted and the surrounding site work is being planned. McDonald Law was instrumental in the renovation process, according to Mrs. Ross. ‘‘The thing that excites me most is that the renovation is being done properly. Law has put a lot of himself into the project. He came up with somegreat ideas,” she said.The South Carolina StateMuseum Commission alsoendorsed the project.The red one-room schoolhouse will be located on the grounds behind the wall that isbordered by South-Boundary. Mrs. Ross stated, ‘‘We feel that we have the use of the property for such additions as the little schoolhouse and hopefully for other buildings. ’ ’The museum will have total access for the handicapped. This will enable the museum to receive government funding.The major role of the museum will be to expand its present programs. TheLiving Artist Gallery is being started and has received its first donation. Ruth Power Bridgesgave a pastel study of an old man with a fur cap to the program. Other donations are expected fromarea artists.Travelling exhibits are being scheduled. Each exhibit will be shown for one year. The fourth annual quilt show will be held in February. Laurel Horton will conduct one seminarduring the quilt show and will be available to evaluate quilts. Each year, over 100 different quilts are shown. ‘‘It is one of our biggest and most popular shows,” said Mr. Ross.The vault located in the library will be a walk-in archive of historical documents. Former closets will showpiece particular historical works.Two pieces of furniture have already been donated for transfer to the new location by Park in the Pines, an old winter colony hotel. An Aiken County courting buggy will also find its way into the museum showroom.There is a garage attached to the house that will enable such large exhibits to be shown.‘‘I hope the museum becomes a hub or nerve center for preserving history,” said Mrs. Ross.
Newspaper Details
Aiken County Register
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Fri, Nov 18, 1983
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
SC, USA 09 Jun 2022
Other Publications Near Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken Daily Mail
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