Fort Mill History Museum Winter 2022 Newsletter

Volume 6, Issue 4- Winter Edition | 2022

CATAWBA TOWNS OF FORT MILL

Typical Palisaded Catawba Town in the Mid 1700’s

The Catawba Nation has been an integral part of Fort Mill's history. In the 1700’s there were six Catawba Towns or villages located in the present township of Fort Mill. These towns were located on the northeast side of the Catawba River along the Great Trading Path near the Nation Ford. All six towns were located within a two-mile radius of each other. These towns were connected by trails as indicated on the John Evans 1756 Map which is accessible from the link below. This map indicates the total number of men fit for war in each town, which totaled 204 men. Although not depicted on the 1756 John Evans Map, one very large and prominent site (Spratt’s Bottom) was thought to have been abandoned prior to 1756. Over the years archaeological research of these sites produced a very large number of artifacts which indicated a diverse array of ceramics and abundant period trade goods.

For more information regarding the Catawba Nation villages and to view the John Evans 1756 map, click on the following link: Catawba Nation Villages

To learn about the Catawba history in York County visit https://catawbaculture.org/

M. Wayne Archie

Avocational Archaeologist

Fort Mill History Museum Research Team

HISTORIC HOMES TOUR UPDATE: Due to scheduling conflicts that were beyond the museum's control, we have rescheduled the Historic Homes Tour this year. We want to give our community the best experience possible for these tours. The tour has been rescheduled for Spring 2023. More details to come at a later date.

Fort Mill History Museum Yard Work Day

Biscuits and Coffee Provided

Saturday, November 19

9-11 AM

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Fort Mill History Museum

Saturday, December 10

10 AM -3 PM

More Details Here

THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING LANTERNS & LEGENDS SEASON!

Thank you to all those that came out and supported the Lanterns & Legends tours this year. This annual tour and fundraiser sold out once again and was very financially successful. We could not continue this event without our community and the love that you all show for the museum. A special thank you to our guides and organizers this year, Kimberly, Jaime, Angela, Darlene, David, & Amber for your dedication to this event. An extra shout out to Amber and her broken ankle who took a tumble on one of the tours. She is doing well. You can't keep a FMHM volunteer down!

Welcome New Sponsor!

Terrier Financial Group

FMHM welcomes The Terrier Financial Group as a new sponsor. Gary Blount, the owner, also owns The Good Life Organic Kitchen and they are located right across the street from the museum. Gary, Valerie, & Elise are great neighbors and are there to advise for any of your personal financial needs. Click here for more info. https://www.terrierfg.com/

George Fish School

Celebration and Historical Marker Dedication

On Steele Street, there is a place to pause and reflect on a time of division, a story of perseverance and a period of achievement. The George Fish Alumni, Fort Mill Schools and the Fort Mill History Museum came together in October to dedicate the historical marker to George Fish School and to honor the students, teachers and leaders who created an environment of learning and strength in Fort Mill’s Black community.

Dr. Constance Dunlap, an alumna of George Fish School led the Dedication Ceremony which featured prominent alumni, community leaders and school officials who presented their perspectives on the George Fish experience.

In March of 1926, students of the Negro Graded School led by Professor Elliott Avery marched out of the dilapidated hand-me-down school building and made a walk into their future. The students arrived wide-eyed and full of hope at the George Fish School building. It was brick, it was brand new and it was theirs. It belonged to their community.

Cora Dunlap Lyles, a graduate of George Fish School, discovered in 2006, that her Alma Mater was a Rosenwald School the new school was the culmination of a process begun when entrepreneur Julius Rosenwald and Educator Booker T. Washington joined forces to create schools to serve the thousands of black children who had been largely ignored by public education in the South. Over 5,000 structures were built through matching grants, 481 in South Carolina alone. The schools were then taken over by the local districts. George Fish School was named for an executive of Springs Mills who insisted that the school be sizable and built of brick. The school served students through 7^th and later 8^th grades from 1926 until 1941 when a high school was added. From the ranks of graduates of George Fish School came teachers, superintendents, doctors and community leaders.

Special recognition was given to The George Fish School Historical Marker Committee, Dr. Constance E. Dunlap, Dr. James “Chuck” Epps, Ms. Christia Humburg, Ms. Cora Dunlap Lyles, Mr. Rufus “Rudy” Sanders and Dr. David R. Ward. Also recognized were Ms. Stephanie Deutsch, author of You Need a Schoolhouse and great-granddaughter-in-law of Julius Rosenwald, and to Ms. Rebecca Studer, who earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by interviewing George Fish Alumni and recording a documentary, which is available at the Fort Mill History Museum.

For more information on George Fish School and the Paradise Community in which the school was located, visit the Fort Mill History Museum.

To hear more about the school from the students who attended, click here.

To see more pictures from the two day event, click here.

Mike and Cheryl Hill

Fort Mill History Museum Research Team

Giving to your local museum ensures that your dollars stay in your community along with supporting programs for you, our children and our neighbors. Please consider giving to help us enjoy more programs and activities and improve our quality of life.

We have paid off $42,500 of our mortgage so far! Thank you to all of those who have donated to this. Paying off the mortgage will be a huge benefit to the Museum and, in return, to our volunteers, members, and community.

Donate Here

Kevin Toevs is affectionately called “Tombstone Toevs” at the Museum. How did he get that name? By pulling on his boots, grabbing his walking stick with a stake on the end, avoiding snakes and watching out for poison ivy plants while searching out cemeteries in Fort Mill.

“When I joined the FMHM, I chose the research team. After looking at the twenty items on the list, I chose finding cemeteries because I thought it would be easy and I could knock it out in a month, “said Kevin. That timeline expanded to almost one and one-half years, partially because of Covid.

Kevin and the History Research Team, contacted people who owned private cemeteries and with their permission, walked the area. Some had extremely high weeds, while others had small stones without names and old broken or unreadable headstones. Large cemeteries owned by churches and the town were not as challenging to find and walk.

A Cemetery Directory with detailed locations, number of graves, oldest dates and other information has been compiled and is now available on the FMHM website and as a hard copy, available at the Museum. Twenty-two cemeteries were found.

Other FMHM members who partnered with Kevin on cemetery research were Gwenn Catalone, Angela Payne, Rudy Sanders, and Wayne Archie. Kevin’s next research project was extreme weather. Did you know that during the flood of 1916 the town of Fort Mill had no electricity and was completely cut off by water from the small streams and river until the water receded. The weather research is complete and on the FMHM website.

Presently, Kevin is working on railroads and transportation in Fort Mill. Kevin was born in Kansas City, Kansas and grew up in Pineville, NC. He graduated from the University of North Carolina. As a Civil Service employee with the Department of the Navy, Kevin traveled the world for twenty-eight years, living in Japan and Europe. Kevin is not only part of the History Research Team, but volunteers as a Front Desk volunteer, an ID checker at events and helps whenever called upon. “Kevin has found his passion for research at the Museum and in the history of our Town. We are fortunate to have a volunteer who is so giving and compassionate,” said Christia Humburg, Executive Director, FMHM

Pat Crigler

Creative Writer Fort Mill History Museum

*Links to the research Kevin and the Research Team have completed are below*

Cemeteries of Fort Mill

Extreme Weather of Fort Mill

Do you have any unique items significant to Fort Mill’s History you would like to donate to the museum? If so, please send an email to Carson Cope– Collections Manager at carson@fmhm.org with a description of the item(s) and picture if possible. Thanks for

helping to preserve Fort Mill’s past.

Did you know? In 1958, the estimated crowd of 9,000 people enjoyed the Yuletide procession of the annual town Christmas parade with nice weather and special parade attendee Vicki the Runaway Elephant. Vicki became popular in September 1955 when she ran away from the Airport Amusement Park in Charlotte and remained in hiding for a couple of weeks.

Fort Mill Times - December 4, 1958

Hello! My name is Jenny Parrish, and I’m proud to serve as a Fort Mill History Museum Board Member. As a York County transplant, my first-hand experience of Fort Mill is only about four years old, but with family in the area my whole life, I’ve visited off and on over the years.

With an educational background and career in tourism, I believe the Fort Mill History Museum is a gem in York County’s tourism landscape. The pandemic changed many things about our world, with the tourism industry suffering in a lot of ways. One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that many travelers made a shift in their destination of choice, with small towns and “off the beaten path” destinations taking top billing. This trend continues even now, and that puts Fort Mill and the Fort Mill History Museum in a prime position to attract visitors and residents alike. With its robust collection of Fort Mill artifacts and exhibits that tell amazing stories from that past, the Fort Mill History Museum is a one stop shop for those who know and love Fort Mill, and those that may just be learning about this wonderful town.

I volunteer with the Fort Mill History Museum because I believe that small towns are the heart and soul of our past and present, and preserving them is vital to our future. Become a member today and see what makes the Museum such a charming addition to the York County community!

Jenny Parrish

Fort Mill History Museum Board Member

Steven Bivins for leading the Property & Facilities Team these past four years. We have accomplished a multitude of projects that have helped maintain our building and keep us safe.
James Shirey for stepping up to lead the Property & Facilities Team. We are looking forward to working with you.
The George Fish School Historical Marker Committee, Cora Dunlap Lyles, Constance Dunlap, Rudy Sanders, Chuck Epps, & David Ward. Also, Joe Burke, Jenny Overman, Tamara Osborne, Tony McMehan, the George Fish Alumni, and the community (so many to name) for the Historical marker celebration that was in October.
All of those that continue to donate to our collection of Fort Mill artifacts
All that continue volunteering and working with the museum for our visitors and community to learn and enjoy