ROCK HILL — A rare opportunity to view some of South Carolina’s most significant founding documents will be available Tuesday at Winthrop University, as a traveling exhibit brings three pivotal records from the American Revolution era to the Louise Pettus Archives.
The exhibit, titled Foundations of a Revolution: South Carolina, 1775 to 1777 and sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a staff presentation at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free.
On display will be the 1775 Articles of Association for the District East of the Wateree, the South Carolina Constitution of 1776 and the 1777 Treaty of DeWitt’s Corner, three documents that are seldom made available for public viewing.
Winthrop’s own archives will complement the state exhibit with a companion display drawing from the university’s Colonial and Revolutionary era holdings. Among the items on view will be a letter from George Washington to South Carolina Governor John Mathews dated 1783, a “Map of Carolina” by cartographer John Speed dated 1676 and an Indenture from the Hammond Family dated 1791.
Pettus Archivist Gina White, a Winthrop alumna from the Class of 1983, is overseeing the university’s contribution to the exhibit.
W. Eric Emerson, SCDAH agency director and state archivist, said the anniversary milestone made the tour especially timely. “The 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding is an excellent time to educate South Carolinians about their state’s crucial role in the American Revolution by bringing key foundational documents to communities throughout the state,” he said.
Exhibit curator D. Andrew Johnson said the agency wanted the display to contribute to the public’s understanding of the country’s origins. “We thought this would be an excellent time to have some of them on public display. We want this exhibit to add to the broader conversation the public is having about the origins of our country,” he said.
After its stop in Rock Hill, the exhibit will travel to the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville on April 23, the Aiken County Historical Museum on May 23 and the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston on June 27. When not on tour, the exhibit will remain on display at SCDAH’s Columbia office Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of the year, also free of charge.
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