A reader who solves a lot of Mystery Photos sent this image to challenge fellow sleuths. Only clue: It’s in South Carolina. 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
We got a lot of guesses from readers for our Oct. 11 mystery, “Painting of a South Carolina scene.” To many readers — and us — it looks like similar buildings in Santee, Andrews, Kingstree and other parts of the state. But the painting by Don Taylor shows Sandhill Mercantile Company on U.S. Highway 378 near Eastover. Thanks to Don’s son David, who lives in Darlington, for sending in the mystery.
Forty percent of the five people who correctly identified this week’s mystery are from Camden. Hats off to Lonnie Godsey and Robert Ariail, both of Camden, as well as Helen Foley of Columbia, George Graf of Palmyra, Va., and Steve Skardon of Mount Pleasant.
Graf provided some more information that came from a Facebook post by a preservation group:
“The former home to the old country store found on Hwy 378 between Columbia and Sumter will be brought back to life with a new purpose thanks to the watchful eyes of the Palmetto Trust. The Sandhill Mercantile store, as it was known in its prime, was recently donated to the Trust by Maria and Evan Kostorizos. This pre-Depression era country store was active until the mid-1980s, and has fallen into disrepair. Since that time, the structure has aged and was scheduled for condemnation and demolition.
The two siblings wanting to honor their family legacy were elated when Executive Director Mike Bedenbaugh expressed interest in what he describes as on icon of rural South Carolina. …
“As fate would have it, Gwen and Vic Latuka from Columbia were eager to have the opportunity to revive the old store and put it to new use selling organic products that Gwen creates for sale. In exchange, the Latukas will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of the products to the Palmetto Trust.”
- UPDATE: Unfortunately, the building no longer exists, according to David Taylor: “Sadly, the building was completely destroyed by arson not long after the decision to renovate it.” More: Sumter Item.
- 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.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!