The Clarendon County Historical Society received some good news last week as County Council approved a funding request presented by President Margaret “Peggi” Sorrell.
Sorrell outlined in a letter to council members on Sept. 14 that the group was requesting $18,870 from the county’s Hospitality Tax Fund in order to make some arrangements at the society’s museum in order to attract folks to the area and instill an appreciation of history in those already present in Clarendon County.
“In the course of traveling around South Carolina and other places, I have seen wonderful towns,” Sorrell said. “My husband and I have gone placed and said, ‘Wow, this is beautiful. I wish Manning could have something like this.’”
Sorelle sai that the society is dedicated to preserving the rich history of Clarendon County, along with promoting it and “trying to get young people interested again in history.”
“You’d be hard-pressed to find an area in South Carolina with more history than Clarendon County,” said Sorrell. “We have battle sites and Francis Marion. This area has as much, if not more history than any other place, maybe short of Charleston or Georgetown.”
Sorrell said the society’s main concern is the museum, which currently operates in a building adjacent to the Bank of Clarendon. That space is rented to the group for $1 per year by the bank.
“The museum is not what it could be or what it needs to be,” Sorrell said. “It’s not what Clarendon County deserves.”
Sorrell said that funds from the hospitality tax fund would be used to “beef up our museum.”
“We need a part-time employee, and we need the museum to be open when people stop in,” she said. “If we have something, and people come to it, and it isn’t open, it doesn’t help anyone.”
Sorrell said a paid, part-time staffer will be at the facility and “will know what they’re talking about and will be able to show people our museum and our rich history.”
“We need to be able to have the museum open for seminars,” she said. “Other towns have this. Elloree, Walterboro, Aiken, Edisto, all these little tiny towns have this.”
Clarendon County Administrator David Epperson advised council members that the hospitality tax could indeed be used for such purposes. Council unanimously agreed on the measure.
“We are thankful for everything that County Council does to support Clarendon County and its rich history and the Historical Society,” said Sorrell. “We are wanting something world-class right here in Clarendon County, and I think that this is a step in that direction.”
