Waking Up

It only takes a short walk or drive through downtown Kingstree's historic district to see that the town is waking up. Over the many years of its history, Kingstree has often been encouraged, particularly when Charles W. Wolfe was editor of The County Record, to waken from its slumbers and move into the modern world. Today, many signs are pointing toward just such an awakening.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are several thousand on what you can see in downtown Kingstree right now.

Hydrangeas are blooming in the median along Main Street, adding color and warmth to the area. The median began as a mini-park in 1908 when the Kingstree Civic League cleared it from what is now Longstreet to the Black River bridge and planted it with shrubs and flowers. Today, the median runs from the bridge to Jackson Street.

Also on Main Street, the historic Williamsburg County Courthouse, built in 1823 from a Robert Mills design, currently boasts a patriotic display of flags along the iron fence, a fence that was much debased and debated before it was placed in front of the Courthouse Square in the early part of the 20th century.

Farther down Main Street, two empty buildings now have colorful decorations in their display windows. Julia Cribb, a rising senior at Williamsburg Academy, has taken on the job of decorating the windows this summer as a service project she will use in a scholarship application. The windows of the old Belk Department Store now show a patriotic country scene, while the windows of the old Drucker Drugstore (originally built for the Bank of Williamsburg in 1906) show beach scenes.

All along Main and Academy streets, new hanging baskets bring pops of color to the downtown as one part of Main Street Kingstree's effort to make downtown the inviting heart of the community. In addition, music can be heard Monday through Saturday on these two streets.

On Academy Street, the entrance to the newly-redesigned and enlarged downtown parking lot, which has served the community since the late 1950s, is flanked by benches. Matching benches are also placed further down Academy, on Main Street, and on Hampton Avenue. The mobile mural also hangs on Academy Street adjacent to the parking lot. And across Academy Street, the HomeTown Chamber has renovated the front of its building with the help of a Facade Grant from the Town of Kingstree.

We've only begun to scratch the surface of downtown Kingstree's potential. There is still much that needs to be done. But downtown is awakening and making a start toward real improvement. More facade work is expected in the next few months, and other projects are in the planning stages. So, take the time to ride or walk around downtown Kingstree. And come back often. You never know what might be added. As retired newspaperman J. E. Norment commented about Kingstree in 1914, "Kingstree has awakened and put on the garments of freshness and youth..."

Three-Story Buildings, Part 3: Kingstree Hardware

In September, 1911, Kingstree residents were discussing one of the biggest real estate deals ever negotiated in town. Kingstree Hardware and the People's Mercantile had jointly acquired property on Hampton Avenue, owned by Dr. W.V. "Jack" Brockington, which included Dr. Brockington's home and all outbuildings. The price paid for the property was $6,300, which had the townspeople talking because at that time Hampton Avenue wasn't considered to be in the "business part of town." 

The old Kingstree Hardware building now houses the Williamsburg County

Department of Social Services. The one-story portion was constructed and occupied

 by The People's Mercantile.

There was much speculation about how the property would be used. The County Record noted that it was likely that Hampton Avenue would become part of the business-section of town, considering that both Kingstree Hardware and The People's Mercantile were involved in the purchase and that businesses were becoming interested in moving closer to the depot. The State newspaper, however, proclaimed that W.H. Carr, general manager for Kingstree Hardware, would remodel the Brockington house to live in and sell the rest of the property.

As it turned out, The County Record was far more in tune with what would happen than The State. At the end of January, 1914, Carr awarded a contract for the construction of a three-story brick building to house Kingstree Hardware. The hardware company had existed since 1904 in facilities on Academy Street. The new building was expected to cost approximately $8,000. At the same time, The People's Mercantile hired the same contractor to build a one-story building next to Kingstree Hardware. Construction crews worked rapidly as both businesses wanted to be in their new locations by the opening of tobacco season in July.

Ad in The County Record of June 25, 1914 for Kingstree Hardware.

Kingstree Hardware opened for business in the new store on June 22, 1914. In addition, W.H. Carr's brother, S.D. Carr, a representative of Charleston's Siegling Music Company, announced that his company had leased the second floor of the three-story building and would open a branch music store here.

The hardware company had been in its new location less than two months when thieves struck. During the night of August 2, 1914, burglars entered the building through the transom of the rear door, making off with cash, cutlery, air rifles and cartridges. Two days later, the police chief apprehended four 14-and-15-year olds who had made the mistake, The County Record observed, of going to the "suburbs" to try out their ill-gotten rifles and ammunition.

Kingstree Hardware had long had the reputation of presenting creative window displays that attracted people to stop and look. At the new location, the creative displays continued with The County Record noting in September, 1915, "A clock in the window of the Kingstree Hardware Co.'s store is just now exciting all sorts of speculation from the city's sages and philosophers, as well as from those of ordinary intellect. The device runs and keeps accurate time with absolutely no apparent means of propulsion, as it consists of nothing more than two hands revolving on a delicate axis, which is held at right angles against the plate glass window by means of a small, rubber vacuum cup. What makes it go, nobody knows, and it is understood that unless someone solves the mystery pretty soon, Mr. W.H. Carr is going to offer a prize of $50 to the one who cracks open this tough nut." The writer hoped the mystery would be solved soon "as it causes too much of a creepy feeling among the populace to have such mysterious arrangements hanging around town during these times of war."

Ornate details were retained in the restoration of the Kingstree Hardware building.

By December, 1915, Kingstree Hardware became the first merchant in town to buy a Ford motor truck for deliveries, and in 1917, it was the first to use a Smith-Form-a-Truck. The Form-a-Truck allowed owners to convert a Ford chassis into a one-ton-truck. In February, 1918, Kingstree Hardware had become an agent for Piedmont Automobiles in addition to its hardware offerings.

1921 ad for Kingstree Hardware's Funeral Services.

The hardware store had offered coffins and caskets for much of its existence, but in 1921, L.J. Stackley, a licensed undertaker, became part of Kingstree Hardware's staff. It was noted that compartments on the second and third floors had been established to accommodate his work.

W.H. Carr died in December, 1921, and was described as "one of Kingstree's most beloved citizens." It was noted that his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Kingstree. 

Old "ghost signs" for B. C. Moore & Sons adorned the side of the building for many years.

That wall unfortunately fell during a microburst while the building was under renovation.

In later years, the building was the home of B.C. Moore's department store, the Belk Bargain Store, and even later still, The General Store. It sat empty for a number of years before the Williamsburg County Development Corporation renovated it for use by the Department of Social Services.

We Believe

Last summer, members of the community came together to paint blocks on a colorful mural, which now hangs on Academy Street in Kingstree, reminding us all that "We Believe in Kingstree." 

The thin metal background with a design by Cait Goins and Rod McCants awaits

Kingstree's creative touch.

Other small, rural communities across the country are also finding ways to make their belief in their towns tangible. The folks at SaveYour.Town, an online community dedicated to pulling together resources for predominantly rural small towns, have come up with the Small Town Creed, from which the rest of the printed material in this blog post is taken.

We are a community of possibilities, not of problems. 

We are action takers. 

We are optimistic.

It's not about the way this town used to be.

We have people right now, assets right here, and we can take action right away.

We create the moments that show what this town could be,

and the places that take our breaths away, if only just for a moment.

What we create doesn't have to be permanent to create possibility.

We don't care about titles or who holds official positions.

No one can stop us from doing the little things that really matter.

We'd rather help 10 people try their own ideas than to hold a vote and tell everyone

to support the winner.

That might be more efficient, but efficiency isn't our goal.

Community is our goal.

We don't let statistics and negative reports beat us up.

Those numbers are nothing but a snapshot in time.

What we do next is up to us.

We aren't changing our town to attract others to come save us.

We are valuing the people who are here now and what we all want to create together.

That means everyone, every single one.

People of all ages, all ethnicities, all backgrounds, all incomes,

people who are new in town, and people who have been here for generations.

We all want a thriving town with a future.

We thrive by doing more business together.

We celebrate the entrepreneurs, the businesspeople, dreamers, makers, artists,

experimenters, performers, crafters, bakers, upcyclers, junkers,

people who sell in booths and homes, and parking lots, and trucks, and sheds.

Together we prosper, right here where we are.

We are creating the community we want one small step at a time.

It's nothing short of a revolution in how we build our town together.

We can do it now!

This photo courtesy of Mayor Darren Tisdale.