Through the Decades

As part of the Williamsburgh Historical Society's annual meeting last weekend, Museum Director Wendell Voiselle took the 21 persons attending "through the decades" of history in Kingstree and Williamsburg County by reading a sampling of news stories from 1961, 1981, and 2001. Today, we'll hit the highlights of some of those stories, too.

The Williamsburgh Historical Society's annual meeting was held at

Thorntree, where those attending listened to Wendell Voiselle tell

stories from the news "through the decades."

In April 1961, three men formerly associated with Burgess Funeral Home in Kingstree organized the Williamsburg Funeral Home. Bob Johnson would manage the new funeral home with Jimmy Brown as assistant manager, and Billy McClary would be secretary-treasurer. The funeral home was located at 332 East Main Street in a 100-year-old house that had been used by the American Legion for the past 10 years. Extensive work would be done to the building and grounds to convert it to use as a funeral home.

Williamsburg Funeral Home in the 1960s.

On May 22, 1961, the Kingstree Town Council voted to indefinitely suspend the use of parking meters in downtown Kingstree. An overwhelming majority of Kingstree's merchants had insisted on the meters' removal. The meters were originally installed in 1947. Mayor Weldon Bower was quoted as saying that he doubted "seriously that they will ever be used in Kingstree again."

Thomas McDowell Gilland, 68, died at his home on Kelley Street on May 15, 1961, after a five-year battle against pulmonary fibrosis. Mr. Gilland was a retired agent for Standard Oil and a former mayor of Kingstree. 

Historical Society board member Chuck Walker 

sits on the porch of Thorntree House.

In 1981, Kingstree golfer Jimmy Burgess would play in the British Amateur Championship, staged at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland. The Royal & Ancient is one of the oldest golf courses in the world. Burgess had recently married Mary Jo Graham of Lake City, and the trip to Scotland would also be their honeymoon.

Also in 1981, Johnny "Gus" Montgomery announced his resignation as football coach at Kingstree Senior High School in order to devote more of his time to his duties as the school's athletic director.

In other school-related news, Samuel Wilson, a native of Williamsburg County, had been named principal of an elementary school in Queen Anne County, Maryland, while Columbus Giles would be Williamsburg County's new superintendent of education, replacing the retiring Cleo Fennell.

In 2001, Williamsburg County Supervisor Richard Treme was looking into historic preservation grants for the possible renovation of the Williamsburg County Courthouse.

The Williamsburg County Courthouse after its renovation in 2014.

The Williamsburg HomeTown Chamber was sponsoring The King's Tea in Kellahan Park. There would be games, and local artists and artisans would have their work on display.

The scenic Black River.

Also, in 2001, 75 miles of the Black River had been designated as a South Carolina Scenic River.

During the business portion of the historical society's meeting, 2020-21 president Beth Horton was thanked for her service to the society. She has chosen to step away from serving on the board this year. Officers were elected, including Bubba Hammet, president; Margaret Chandler, vice-president, and Rosa Cherry, secretary/treasurer.

Museum Director Wendell Voiselle listens as Society Secretary/Treasurer

Rosa Cherry goes over the Historical Society's 2020-21 financial report.

Wendell Voiselle noted that he continues to get phone calls from all over the country from persons who have genealogical connections to Williamsburg County and are looking for information about their ancestors. Now that the museum is again open to the public, visits are also picking up.

Bobbie and Buddy McCutchen sign in at the annual meeting.

The new museum annex next door to the museum on Hampton Avenue is moving forward. Design Dimensions, a North Carolina company, is working on exhibits for the new space. They plan to finish their work by mid-August, allowing the annex to open in September as required by the Parks, Recreation and Tourism grant which is funding the addition. A grand opening is in the works for sometime this fall.

Next year the museum will host a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, entitled "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America." The exhibit will be here for six weeks in April-May 2022. Several special events are being planned to highlight this exhibit.