A Trip Through Time....

Whenever we are at a new place, we like to check out the local history. We checked out the local Oconee Heritage Museum and the Cherokee of South Carolina Museum. They were literally two buildings away from each other but chock full of information. The county of Oconee consists of several little cities or townships, each with their own individuality. It was really neat to read about the history that made this little county, including how Walhalla (the closest "big city") got its name.

All about Andrew Pickens; Pickens County is named for him. He also married the Aunt of John C. Calhoun, a famous Civil War corroborator.

This is the information about the Germans settling here and why they named the town Walhalla. Sorry for the shadow; the lights were very bright.

And all around the museum, they showcased daily living and textiles. I'll let you enjoy these pictures.

This is a weaving machine. I didn't understand the bobbins and stuff till I saw it in person. I only read about how dangerous it was to replace them (they often used young children); this machine eliminated the use of all that. Cool!

 A country cabin decorated for the holidays

And of course, don't forget the domestic arts. Ladies, I can't imagine using these devices to wash our clothes or dishes. But it beats washing them by hand or beating them against a rock (the clothes, not the dishes)!

And you get 50 points and 12 stars if you can name this contraption (not the white thing next to it):

Ding ding ding! It's a phone booth! Those are the things you used to use to make a phone call when you didn't have a phone in your house, when you didn't have an answering machine, when you didn't have one going with you wherever you go. Yup! When you left your house and someone had to get a hold of you, guess what? They called back!!! Wow! Imagine that! And it had a slot that you put money in it~and sometimes there was an operator on the other line to connect you to your party. Don't believe me? Ask Google on your phone 😊

After we finished there, we went two buildings over to this place:

It was very nice, very small. It only took us about 30 minutes to do the whole tour.  But it was nicely done. 

Of course, the bigger Cherokee museum is in Cherokee, NC, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We've been there, too. It was pretty spectacular. Two more notes for you and a statue:

It was a great day, learning about our little town. We are here until Monday; then we go down the road (literally 45 minutes) to another state park, and the biggest town is Pickens. Ya'll come back! 😉