Want to learn about Fort Mill’s past? Just take the tour
It’s now easier to take a walk down History Lane and learn more about downtown Fort Mill’s past.
Museum volunteers have created the Historic Fort Mill Walking Tour brochure highlighting historic buildings along Main Street. Those taking the tour can read about the history of each building and may also set up guided tours for groups through the history museum.
“I do feel that the tour could be an asset to Fort Mill by helping newcomers and visitors understand what downtown Fort Mill used to be, a wonderful place to visit, shop, dine and be entertained, especially at the Majestic and Center theaters and Rexall pool room,” said local historian Chip Heemsoth, a member of Fort Mill’s historic review board.
Downtown Fort Mill once boomed with retailers, up to seven grocery stores, banks, hotels and yes, even two movie theaters.
“One of the reasons we wanted to do this was to give people a sense of what was here when Fort Mill was a self-contained town, and hopefully will be again,” said museum volunteer LeAnne Morse, who gave guided tours of Main Street during the recent History Days event at Walter Y. Elisha Park.
Newcomers to Fort Mill may be surprised to learn that the town once bustled on the weekends, as families came downtown to shop and socialize.
“Saturday was market day,” Morse said. “During the 1950s and 60s, there were soda fountains, movie theaters and grocery stores. You could buy clothes, go to the barber or the doctor. Main Street was the center of (residents’) lives.”
But Morse can see a day when downtown is thriving again, and sooner rather than later.
On a recent weekend, hammering could be heard inside a building undergoing renovation on Main Street. Diners sat outside Hobos’ restaurant, enjoying the sun. The open sign at Puckerbutt Pepper Co. was on, where there was once a variety of clothing stores for many years.
Renovation to the former Knife Shop (which once housed the post office and attorneys’ and doctor’s offices) and two adjacent buildings are in the works. There are also plans to renovate 100 Main Street, home to the old Center Theatre. Offices, retail and restaurants are in the plans for the redevelopment.
“People are starting to view downtown as a destination again,” Morse said.
And with the walking tour, “people can come downtown, enjoy themselves but also learn something,” she said. “We’re still digging up more and more information to add to it.”
The brochures have been popular, and volunteers say the kiosks need to be restocked frequently.
“What we’re hearing is that people enjoying it,” Morse said. “People seem to be interested in finding out what was here.”
Want to go?
The walking tour brochures are available at the museum, which is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 107 Clebourne St., off Main Street. The brochures are also available at kiosks at the parking area at Walter Y. Elisha Park, near the crosswalk at Millstone Park downtown and at Town Hall on Confederate Street.
To arrange a guided tour, call the museum at 803-802-3646.
This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Want to learn about Fort Mill’s past? Just take the tour."