Nestled right into the heart of Fox Street in downtown Lexington, the Lexington County Museum sits as a resource and preservation of times past. Museum Director J.R. Fennell took over his role in 2007 when the county was looking for someone with a fresh perspective and passion for history to take over the established museum. Since then, Fennell has been super busy with staff and volunteers bringing new life into the Lexington County Museum.
The museum is currently working to redevelop its educational programs for the community. The museum provides free educational material for local schools and homeschool groups to educate the younger generations on the beginnings of Lexington County. Patrica Shandor, museum employee, has undertaken the project and is working to redevelop 15 of their current programs. Museum staff felt the need to update the educational programs to stay current with today’s school curriculum.
“When we revaluated the different programs that we currently had set in place, we felt that we need revamp what worked 30 years ago but doesn’t work well now,” Fennell said. The educational programs were once set up as a “storybook” learning style, but now implements an interactive style of learning. Currently, the museum is working on a “Transportation in the 18th and 19th Century” program that focuses on the different forms of transportation and the science behind the different styles. The curriculum showcases their collection of carriages and wagons, and artifacts from the Columbia and Augusta railroad. The museum staff heavily focuses on these different transportation styles due to impact they each had on the development of Lexington and surrounding areas.
In addition to the revamping the Lexington County Museum’s educational programs, Fennell and staff have also developed two different gardens that incorporate a variety of plants and crops that would have been grown in Lexington during the 18th and 19th century. One of the gardens, onsite of the museum, is incorporated with a self-guided nature tour that walks visitors through the many different plants that they would find in early Lexington.
“The garden helps us educate guests about the crops that were grown locally in and around Lexington,” Fennell said. “It has much more to offer than what you would find at a grocery store today. Our mission is to keep the garden and its stories from getting lost in history.”
The second garden, affectionately known as the “King Garden,” is an ornament garden that sits on land that was donated to the museum from the King Family. Offsite of the museum, the King Garden is a display of what a typical ornament garden would look like during the 19th century. Ornament gardens would only have been seen at the homes of wealthy families and are enjoyed for their beauty. The gardens would include lush floral and greenery. The King Garden includes beautiful trees such as mimosa trees, wisteria, and crepe myrtles to be enjoyed by visitors.
The Lexington County Museum also wants to encourage the community to come to its upcoming free “Murders and Mysteries” tours in the fall months. The tours have been a part of the Lexington County Museum for about 11 years and has grown to be a popular attraction to the community. Fennell quotes the guided “Murders and Mysteries” tours as “huge and successful.” On Sept. 13, guests are invited to meet at Irmo Town Park at 8 p.m. and enjoy a guided walking tour through historic Irmo and hear about crazy stories from times past. In addition, the museum is also hosting a Lexington “Murders and Mysteries” tour in Lexington on Oct. 11. Interested guests are invited to meet at the Icehouse Amphitheatre in downtown Lexington at 8 p.m. and enjoy a guided walking tour through the town’s most historic and spooky spots.