Spend a Day in Greenwood, South Carolina; things to do + hotel review

Spend a Day in GREENWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA

Featuring the widest Main Street east of the Mississippi, this well-maintained town is especially fun to visit in June  when they host the annual South Carolina Festival of Flowers.  Forty-plus topiaries are on display for the month, and a walking tour with a master gardener is available.  My favorite was the seahorse and the butterfly.  It is also home to the Railroad Historical Center, which has exhibits that include seven vintage train cars.

seahorse topiary at South Carolina Festival of Flowers
in Greenwood, South Carolina

butterfly topiary at South Carolina Festival of Flowers
in Greenwood, South Carolina

While here, you’ll also want to visit:

Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site  

This peaceful spot--think lilac bushes and twittering birds--honors the former president of Morehouse College in Atlanta.  Dr. Mays was an accomplished scholar and an advisor to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter, and a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (he is known for the eulogy he gave at Dr. King’s funeral).  He met with Mahatma Gandhi and learned about non-violence and became the impetus for the civil rights movement.  This site holds the modest, rustic wood cottage he was born within in 1894 and a 1900s one-room schoolhouse built for African-American children--both were moved here from the nearby Epworth area and are furnished era artifacts--as well as a museum within a newly-built faux barn that showcases a collection of photos and memorabilia.  The only original Mays items in the house are two framed bird pictures.  In addition to learning about Dr. Mays, visitors learn plenty about African American life here in the South back in time.  Tours of the complex are available.

sign at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site
in Greenwood, South Carolina

Director Christopher B. Thomas leads tour of birth house at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site in Greenwood, South Carolina

interior of birth house at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site
in Greenwood, South Carolina

bird drawings inside birth house at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
Historical Preservation Site in Greenwood, South Carolina

backyard view from birth house at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
Historical Preservation Site in Greenwood, South Carolina

interior of schoolhouse at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site
in Greenwood, South Carolina

museum at Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site
in Greenwood, South Carolina

And should you want to spend the night:

Inn on the Square  

E. 104 Court Ave., (864) 330-1010.  Full breakfast included.  Pets ok.  

The town’s only full-service boutique hotel, the Inn on the Square is known for exceptional hospitality.  The first floor is a gathering area, with a large and comfortable lobby and two restaurants.  The Carriage House offers an extensive menu that includes selected nightly specials--steak on Thursday, fish on Friday--and the more pub-like Fox & Hound Lounge offers simpler meals.  Rooms are large and comfortable and recently upgraded.  Breakfast includes table service and several menu choices. 

lobby flowers at Inn on the Square in Greenwood, South Carolina

Fox & Hound Lounge at Inn on the Square in Greenwood, South Carolina

guest room at Inn on the Square in Greenwood, South Carolina

 

breakfast at Inn on the Square in Greenwood, South Carolina

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images ©2018 Carole Terwilliger Meyers