Society Hill Council approves funds for historic library lighting
By Melissa Rollins, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
The 1822 Library in Society Hill will be getting some new life breathed into it, thanks to action by town council. During their March meeting, council members approved a motion to use money toward putting lighting inside and outside of the library to make it an attraction for those coming through the town and for town residents alike.
“Sitting right here is the 1822 library the oldest library, outside of Charleston and Georgetown, in this part of the state,” said Mayor Tommy Bradshaw. “This library has been sitting here for over 20 years with no electricity inside.”
Bradshaw brought the issue before council since it was determined that a similar suggestion he made previously would not pan out the way the town thought it would.
“When we approved our budget for this year…I requested some money under the general expenditures for the St. David’s Monument, to illuminate the monument,” Bradshaw said. “After further looking at that, I found that that is not really a good idea; it won’t work out well.”
Society Hill Town Council is working to preserve and promote its historical beginnings.
“When you come into Society Hill from four directions, you see signs that say ‘Welcome to Society Hill, a historic town.’ It says that because we are a historic town because we are, we are the birthplace of the Pee Dee,” Bradshaw said. “I want to continue to promote that because that is one of our great assets.”
Bradshaw said that there was a possibility that the electrical work could be done at a lowered cost due to the fact that the town was getting work done already.
“Right now, Kelly’s Electrical out of Hartsville/McBee is doing electrical work for us,” Bradshaw said. “I think that while the electrician is here we should go over there, it won’t cost much. (We should) transfer this $600 for work on the St. David’s monument and put it toward a couple of gooseneck lights for the library’s windows. It is sort of dark on that corner at night. People coming through at night will see the sign that says Society Hill is a historic town and then they will see that and it is kind of neat.”
Council voted unanimously to change the designation of the money from the work on the St. David’s monument to work on the library.
In other business, council voted to give the balance of the accommodations tax fund, currently $687.88, to the Taste of Society Hill Planning Committee after chairperson Melissa Burch approached council for financial help with the event. Burch said that planning is coming along well for the May 13 event but that the committee was short some money until proceeds start to come in from ticket sales. Burch asked for $700 and council said that they should be able to fill in the gap between the accommodations tax fund money and what Burch was asking for. The money raised from the Taste will go toward continuing historic preservation in Society Hill with on-going projects such as the Train Depot, preservation of the 1822 Library, and acquiring historic markers for both Bethesda and Union Churches.