Hunter's Store In Pendleton Sc

Title

Hunter's Store In Pendleton Sc

Artist

Dale Powell

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Photograph

Description

Pendleton Fall Harvest Festival in October

Hunter's Store, the home of Pendleton's original one-stop shop, is a stop for history buffs across South Carolina.

The building opened for business in 1850 on Pendleton's town square at what is now the intersection of Mechanic and Queen streets. Originally built by Jesse Lewis to serve as a general store, the Hunter family assumed full ownership in 1873.

"It was like the local Walmart," said Vicki Fletcher, executive director of the Pendleton District Commission. "They had shoes, cloth, seeds, rope, a meat market — they sold everything. If they didn't have it, you didn't need it."

The Hunters operated their business in the building until 1929, when they moved into a new building across Jackson Street to the east — now the home of Vaqueros Mexican Restaurant. The building later housed an appliance repair shop for a time, but it sat mostly unused and crumbling until the newly-formed district commission bought it in 1968.

The commission moved into the building, despite its deterioration. The collections housed at the store include firsthand accounts, business and church records, photos and more records of the history of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.

"I believe it was our largest artifact at the time," said Fletcher. "There were some who did suggest tearing it down and starting over, but it's on the National Register of Historic Places … to remove it would have been a sacrilege."

The store is one of the district's main attractions and upkeep on the 165-year-old building is expensive. A $400,000 grant in 2006 paid to rebuild the store's foundation, remove old lead paint and mold, add a new roof and do necessary mechanical work inside.

The overhaul didn't scare away the store's ghost, apparently. A town legend from the late 1800s has it that a drunken man fell into Eighteen Mile Creek and was taken to the store by friends to hide him from his wife. They failed to light a fire before they left him in an upstairs room and he succumbed to the cold temperatures that night.

Ever since then, building occupants have reported occasional sightings of the unidentified man's alleged ghost. Former volunteer Jo McConnell recalled her encounter in a 2009 Independent Mail feature about the store.

"I got up from my desk and was walking around the corner to the water fountain. There was a corner alcove that I passed," McConnell said. "When I looked, I had an impression of a black silhouette, a man with his shoulders hunched over. He had very curly, bushy hair, boots and a black, wrinkled suit."

Another $250,000 has been raised since Fletcher assumed her post in 2008 to secure the district's archives in a climate controlled room at the store and other remodeling work. Another $250,000 is needed over the next few years to tuck-point the brick exterior — a bee infestation shut down the store for several weeks last year — and do regrading and paving to make the front entrance more convenient for visitors.

The competition for public and private grant dollars get tougher with each year, as fewer local, state and federal dollars are made available for entities like the Pendleton District Commission. A good bit of Fletcher's work has to do with finding money to keep the old store from falling back into disrepair. "We don't own this building; it owns us," Fletcher said. "That's what keeps me up at night; it's a struggle but it's one we love."

Fletcher said the commission will host an art auction early next year to coincide with the rollout of its new brand. A 50th anniversary celebration is also planned. Anyone who wants to donate money or historic materials should visit www.pendletondistrict.org or call 864. 646.3782.

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October 16th, 2017

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