Edgefield County Historical Society

07/27/2026

Auditions tonight!

👏👏 AUDITIONS!!!! 👏👏

Want to be onstage in the hilarious comedy "Daddy's Dyin' - Whose Got the Will?" No experience necessary!

Auditions are Sunday and Monday!

Get all the info here: https://edgefieldtheatre.com/auditions

07/27/2026

Join us for audition opportunities at Edgefield Theatre! No experience necessary. Explore community theater auditions and showcase your talent!

06/26/2026

This coming Sunday, June 28th, 2026 at 3:00 PM we will have a program by Wade Harrison on Andrew Williamson, the remarkable Colonial and Revolutionary War leader, and his home, Whitehall, the location of which has been recently re-discovered and from which a number of significant artifacts have been unearthed. Wade has done a tremendous amount of work in putting this program together. This will be a most interesting program!

Location:
405 Main Street, Edgefield, SC 29824
William Miller Bouknight Theatre at our Joanne T. Rainsford Discovery Center, beginning at 3:00.

04/08/2026

On Sunday, April 12th, 2026 the Edgefield History Class is going to have a presentation by Ms. Carolyn Ho**er, author of "Leaving Edgefield", a novel based upon the life of Edgefield’s Carrie Butler, the mother of Essie Mae Washington Williams, Strom Thurmond’s eldest daughter. Having read this novel which, of course, necessarily consists of many scenes imagined by the author but not corroborated by any documentation, we have found it nevertheless a believable and a fair treatment of most of the historical characters. It is also a tender and moving story. We hope that all interested will come and enjoy Ms. Ho**er’s presentation. This will be at 3:00 pm this coming Sunday, April 12th, in the William Miller Bouknight Theatre in the Joanne T. Rainsford Discovery Center at 405 Main Street, Edgefield.

Leaving Edgefield: Carrie Butler's Story

03/25/2026

The Four Old Broads from last season are back! This time, the women get into adventures on their long-awaited cruise.

A play by Leslie Kimball
Directed by Dustin Turner

Tickets:
https://mainstreetplayers.ludus.com/index.php

02/27/2026

Nearby talk on Thomas Clark:

The public is cordially invited to the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society meeting on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 3:00 p. m., in the Johnston Genealogical Research Center, 405 Calhoun Street, Johnston, SC.

The guest speaker will be John Paul Marr, who serves as the minister of the Troy Presbyterian Church in Troy, SC. As a graduate of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, his on-again / off-again time travel experiments continue exploring 18th century theology and ministry practices. Rev. Marr’s topic of discussion will be “Identity Theft.” The American story is a tapestry of interwoven lives and legacies. One such thread, often neglected, is the medical doctor-minister Thomas Clark. His travels from Scotland to Ireland and from New York to South Carolina provide a meaningful picture of the American experience in the colonial era. A telling of Thomas Clark’s “stolen identity” demonstrates how history is not solely about remembering the past; rather, it also informs our present and influences how we approach the future.

This promises to be a very interesting meeting. Please make plans to attend. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Tonya at 803-991-0492 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

02/21/2026

Upcoming productions at the Discovery Center on Main Street in Edgefield!

02/08/2026

New show coming to The William Miller Bouknight Theatre located in the Society’s Joanne T. Rainsford Discovery Center at 405 Main Street in Edgefield. Tickets on sale now for this comedy! Proceeds benefitting the ECHS.

👏 NEW DATES! 👏

The Wild Women of Winedale will now be staged on March 6,7,8 and 13,14,15. If you have already purchased your tickets, please check your email. We will gladly change them to one of the new dates or refund your purchase.

PLEASE NOTE: Ticket sales have been turned off for a few days but will resume soon. Check back here on the Main Street Players page for updates.

We'll see you there!

01/27/2026

The Camellia Tea
February 12, 2026
2:00 to 4:00 PM FREE, Drop-in
Magnolia Dale
320 Norris St., Edgefield, SC 29824

Enjoy delicious hot tea and locally made delicious refreshments while admiring the hundreds of local camellia blooms. This in-person event is the perfect opportunity to relax, socialize, and appreciate the beauty of camellias. Don't miss out on this unique experience. Sponsored by the Edgefield County Historical Society. Tickets are not required at the door, they do help us prepare for the number of guests. Camellia plants will be on sale nearby at the Discovery Center (cash or check preferred), thank you to Gene's Camellia World. Raffle tickets available for free at downtown local vendors, drop tickets at the entrance to Magnolia Dale for a lovely gift basket.

Camellias are special to the South and were said first arrive in South Carolina in 1786 by French botanist André Michaux to Middleton place. The camellia tea is a special tradition in the town of Edgefield, South Carolina each February. The event first began in the 1940s, disappeared for decades and began again in 2008. More than 200 beautiful camellia blooms ranging from 1790s to 2000s are on display, from local gardens. Each bloom is labeled with name and date and resides in a glass vase within the historic Magnolia Dale, 1843 house museum. Guests attend for free and enjoy a fine array of homemade tea refreshments on silver platters and hot Russian tea as they peruse the blooms and enjoy the pleasant afternoon.
Camellia Tea

Join us at Edgefield Camellia Tea for a delightful afternoon of sipping tea and enjoying the beautiful camellia blooms from the local area.

12/19/2025