The following is an Article that was published in The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America magazine’s
September 1994 issue.
Beginning of text for the article
McCormick, South Carolina
Location
A community of 2,000 in the southwest corner of the state, McCormick is an hour’s drive west of
Columbia, the state capital.
Climate
Summer settles into this region toward the end of April and refuses to leave until nearly Halloween--and
it’s a hot, sticky summer to boot. Fortunately, there’s relief nearby in the form of Strom Thurmond Lake, a
30-mile reservoir attracting most of the local population during the year’s uncomfortable months. Autumn
comes and goes without much fanfare, winter is always mild with occasional dustings of snow, and spring
is lovely while it lasts.
Living
Once a gold-mining boom town, most of McCormick has the restored appearance of an 1800s frontier
village. Today it’s the sort of a small town where the local drug store has a lunch counter and you can still
order a fountain coke with a grilled cheese sandwich. Kudzu vines are the region’s most dominant living
organism, followed in descending order by pine trees, livestock, wide-mouth bass, and finally, the
residents of McCormick.
Long a favorite wide spot in the road for those seeking hand-crafted furniture, antiques, and
locally created traditional crafts, McCormick has started to attract a mixed group of artists who are either
potters with an abiding interest in the region’s indigenous Edgefield style of pottery, or older, more
established painters who are moving into the planned communities springing up along the area’s miles of
lake shore. Artists are finding solace in both the area’s low cost of living and its increasingly successful
position as an arts community. The local arts council provides free working quarters to any artist who
needs studio space. An average 3-bedroom home along one of McCormick’s many tree-shaded streets
lists in the $40,000 range, while lake front spreads cost upwards of $150,000.
Out On the Town
The nearby town of Augusta, Georgia, offers just about any of the dining and entertainment options you
would expect from a town with a major military base and one of the nations most renowned golf clubs
(Augusta National). There are several public and privately supported organizations in the McCormick
area that are focused on the preservation and recreation of the area’s historic legacy, and one longstanding local favorite is the Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve. Lunch and dinner options in this area
include Migs Pizza and the Sugar Shack, but if your entertainment needs go further than a simply good
meal, it means driving to Augusta.
Economic Impact of the Arts
It’s taken a little more than ten years for McCormick to shake the image it once had as a backwater ghost
town. The turnaround was accomplished through a community-wide effort to work with the existing
downtown structures in a renovation program that has brought newcomers, tourists, and even real estate
developers into the region. Today the challenge for McCormick is to maintain the momentum of being a
small town on the comeback trail. Hopefully, the town’s business community will find this task compatible
with supporting both the area’s traditional craft forms and the new group of artists and gallery owners
eager to contribute to the town’s revitalization.
Local Arts Agency
McCormick Arts Council at the Keturah, 155 S. Main Street, McCormick SC 29835, (864)465-3216.
Publishes the newsletter Horizons.
“We try to do as much as we can with our limited facilities,” says council director Laura Talbot, “but
because we don’t have access to a theater, we’re prevented from staging plays or dance programs. We
do have a well-equipped arts center that can be used for classroom instruction in music, painting,
photography, pottery, and dance. Our visual art exhibitions are targeted toward the work of the area’s
craft artists and painters. Local membership funds are very important to what we’re doing, because
business isn’t yet at the stage of supporting us financially. There’s tourism promotion that mentions the
arts that are here, but we still haven’t established the connection in business owner’s minds that what’s
good for the arts is also going to be very good for the economy. Or local schools have had art instruction
for several years--there are regular programs with visiting artists in the schools, and the state’ been taking
a strong interest in promoting the case for rural arts.
Galleries and Arts Festivals
While there are a couple of stores in town where visitors can spot a painting or two and find strong
examples of Edgefield-style potter and local craft, most of the visual art is exhibited at the arts council’s
nonprofit gallery. The year’s largest arts event is held in May, when downtown Main Street is blocked off
for the Spider Lilly Festival
What the Artist Says
Steven Ferrell, a ceramicist and historian, says the national interest in the region’s indigenous style of
pottery is increasing. “I think the popularity has something to do with Edgefield’s being the first truly
American school of pottery, a British form that used Chinese techniques and was made by African
slaves. Museum curators are down here all the time looking for originals, and there are a number of
potters doing reproductions.”
Ingrid Hoffer, an established painter who moved here a year ago, says McCormick’s attraction is
its climate. “The town tries very hard to preserve what’s still standing, but there’s a lot that remains to be
renovated. The art center is really coming into its own, it’s been a magnet for the new people. We’re
seeing lots of families who are interested in doing whatever they can to build up the town’s arts
programs.”
End of text for the article.
Some things have changed in McCormick since this article was written in 1994. Various restaurants have
come and gone. There are still a few places where you can dine in town, however. Strom’s drug store
and it’s soda fountain are still here but they do not serve lunch.
Some of the shops have changed hands but there are still some places where you can browse for
antiques, used books, and other items. A trip to White’s Hardware is also fun.
The McCormick Arts Council at the Keturah (MACK) has grown since 1994 and has a new exhibit
each month. Classes in painting, drawing, pottery, genealogy, basket weaving, piano to name a few are
offered regularly. The Artisan Guild was established a few years back and its members stock and
operate the MACK Gallery Shop with the wonderful items they create. A trip to this shop is a MUST - you
are sure to find something you will love.
If you come to McCormick, be sure to stop in the MACK. The staff will be happy to give you a
tour of the historic building and tell you some of its history. The MACK is a non-profit organization that
exists and provides its programs to the community through donations. Your support is needed and most
welcome.