This photo doesn’t show a Boy Scout project, but is something else. What is it and where? Send your guess about the location of this photo to feedback@statehousereport.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our Aug. 30 mystery, “Old brick building,” has housed the Hartsville Museum since 1980. The Colonial Revival brick building was first built in 1930 as a post office and later became a library.
Congratulations to these diligent photo sleuths: Bill Segars and Don Clark, both of Hartsville (this was too easy for them); Jay Altman of Columbia; Frank Bouknight of Summerville; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
Bouknght said he remembered his grandfather taking him on evening walks downtown to check his mail. Segars said the post office, which was built in 1930 for $63,933, became a library in 1963. “This building is situated in a main downtown block of Hartville. Two of the other buildings in the block are the Center Theater, a performing arts venue, and the Community Market Building, now used as an art center.”
Graf shared information that highlighted how Hartsville continued to grow during the Great Depression, unlike other communities. “One [factor] was its citizens’ belief that their town was special, that it had, as a radio address titled “The Spirit of Hartsville” claimed in 1936, “a wealth of spiritual values which translate men and women into a rich and fruitful and satisfying community life.” This belief which was shared – and encouraged – by Hartsville’s business and political leaders, resulted in several significant projects in the 1930’s and 1940’s. These included the construction of the Hartsville Post Office; the Hartsville Community Center and Hartsville Community Market; and the Lawton Park and Pavilion; as well as the Hartsville Armory; Hartsville High School; and the Butler High School Auditorium.”
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
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