I don’t claim to be a city planner, but I do think that efforts to revitalize downtown need a boost.
Of course, the new library and Little Theatre are great additions to the town but they attract mostly local people. What is needed to bring in the tourists with their outside money is a “hook.” As any carnival concessionaire will tell you, a hook, or gimmick, brings in the customers.
Florence had that hook in its grasp years ago, but threw it away.
The hook was the fact that the town was an important rail center, loaded with the stuff that supported the railroad business.
When the train business died, the town should have used the remains to establish a first class railroad museum.
The old depot could have been the centerpiece, housing interesting artifacts from the age of steam.
A siding could have been built to support an engine or two along with a dining car, Pullman sleeper and coaches. An old red caboose always attracts viewers, as does semaphores, telegraphs and switchgear. Though these items were readily available at the time, they were sold as scrap or left to rust away and are probably long gone or else housed in anther town’s museum.
But it may not be too late to exploit the cotton industries that once flourished hereabout. How about a replica of an old knitting mill turned into a museum displaying the equipment used in growing and processing the cotton into clothes and garments?
Display pictures of the people working in these industries and how they lived.
I realize that there is a “Cotton Museum” in Bishopville, but I visualize something broader in scope, housed in a modern facility that exploits the magical aura surrounding these old machines and pictures that people find interesting.
Another idea, though smaller in scope, would be a medical museum. This is one of the greatest medical centers for miles around. Surely there are old equipment and pictures available that tell the story about the growth of this industry.
While neither of these ideas may be feasible, a brain storming session by the city planners may bring up others more easily implemented. So have at it, guys, let’s get the downtown moving again.
Howard L. McFann
Florence
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