The Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society has managed to put up 29 painted panoramas throughout Clarendon County, and it will celebrate its 15th year of doing so with the refurbishment of one of the first in early 2017.
"We are going to have to replace one early in the year," said George Summers, who co-founded the movement with his wife, Carole, in the late 1990s. George said the couple's goal in starting the society was to create an tourist attraction in the area.
"We also wanted our residents to know the history," he said.
The first mural went on the side of the Manning Police Department in 2001, drawn by Will Anderson. The artists have changed, but each mural ultimately depicts a facet of the Revolutionary War and the battles of Gen. Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion.
"The one on Dollar General in Turbeville has deteriorates, so we will be replacing that with a three-panel composition within the next six months," George said.
The last mural - the 29th overall - went up nearly one year ago in Summerton.
"Elusive Marion" is on the south-facing wall across from the Summerton Early Childhood Center, Carole said. "There are those that depict battles themselves, and others that just show life back then during that time. Most have Gen. Francis Marion in them."
Murals are now located in Manning, Summerton, Paxville and Turbeville.
"We've had dozens of artists who have worked on them," Carole said.
The society now exists as a non-profit with "the goal to promote the history of the American Revolutionary War and Gen. Francis 'Swamp Fox' Marion through these murals," she added.
Fundraisers have provided the backbone for the society, which holds a Swamp Fox Symposium each year in October over two days that features dinner theaters and tours of battle locations.
For more information, or to find locations of the murals, visit www.clarendonmurals.com or www.francismarioncountry.com.
