Event offers a ‘Taste’ of local food, Pee Dee history
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
On May 13, the community is invited to the Taste of Society Hill for an evening of great food and a look at the history of the town.
Taste of Society Hill Committee Chairperson Melissa Burch said that the night is three events in one.
“This will be an open house for the Depot after all of the renovation work, we will have an awesome display of items about Society Hill and we get to eat,” Burch said. “We knew that the Depot needed an opportunity to be shown off and that everyone had loved the Taste (when it was held before) so we just thought why not bring one back while we spotlight another.”
A special part of the event came about through a partnership with the Darlington County Historical Commission. Director Brian Gandy has been working on compiling information about Society Hill and the people that brought it into existence.
“We are really excited,” Gandy said. “We have already started doing an install. We are going to start with the earliest history of Society Hill, Long Bluff, Greenville (the precursor to Society Hill) and then of course we’ll go into Society Hill Depot, ultimately ending up with information related to the incorporation of Society Hill.”
Gandy said that some of the items that will be displayed by the commission would be returning to the community after a long absence.
“This will be the first time since about 1830 that the Morgan James Bible has been in Society Hill,” Gandy said. “That is the oldest known document in existence in the Pee Dee.”
With the proceeds from the Taste going toward historic preservation and the purchase of historical marker signs for two local churches, it seemed appropriate to create a historical display.
“It is going to work out to be almost 2,000 square feet of exhibit space,” Gandy said. “It is going to be a massive exhibit and I am excited about it.”
Having put so much time and energy into creating the exhibit, Gandy said that he wants to get more than one night of display out of it.
“The plan is to hopefully open it up again the day after the Taste to municipal folks across the county because the documents are what have created who most of us are,” Gandy said. “I want folks to be able to actually interact with the exhibit. We have been working hard so that when it is over, Society Hill will be able to say, that’s us. That’s who we are. That’s where we came from.”
The event will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Society Hill Train Depot. Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased at Society Hill Town Hall, the Darlington County Historical Commission or online at https://sites.google.com/site/longbluffhistoricsociety. They can also be purchased for $25 at the door. The Society Hill Train Depot is located at 122 West Depot Street in Society Hill.