Event Schedule

10:45 – 11:45: Andrew Agha – Lecture – Multipurpose Room
10:45 – 11:45: Chris Judge – Object Identification – Courtyard
10:45 – 11:45: Bobby Southerlin – Pottery Display – Courtyard
10:45 – 11:45: Nicole Isenbarger – Dining Detectives – Lobby
10:45 – 11:45: Scott Jones – Prehistoric Tool Exhibit – Lobby

11:45 – 1:15: Break for Lunch

1:30 – 2:30: Chris Judge – Lecture – Multipurpose Room
1:30 – 3:30: Nicole Isenbarger – Dining Detectives – Lobby
1:30 – 3:30: Carin Bloom – Revolutionary Period Renactment – Courtyard
1:30 – 3:30: Bobby Southerlin – Pottery Exhibit – Courtyard
1:30 – 3:30: Scott Jones – Prehistoric Tool Exhibit – Lobby

Event Descriptions

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM – Multipurpose Room

Lecture Title: “An Update from the Field and Lab: Recent Historical Archaeology Along the Pee Dee River in the Greater Florence Area.”

Lecture Abstract: Over the last four years, historical archaeology conducted through the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee (AIPD) has been undertaken at 11 sites and properties spanning the mid-eighteenth through early twentieth centuries. All of the sites studied contribute in small and large ways to the development, settlement, and creation of the communities that surround and comprise the City of Florence. From footpaths, horse trails, and rail lines, to small backcountry churches, planters’ settlements, Revolutionary War-related sites, and the small “lost” towns of South Carolina, our archaeological research and studies through the AIPD and Florence Museum have generated a growing database we use to learn more about the historical development of the Darlington-Florence area than ever before. Agha will discuss the Cashaway Baptist Church site, the search for Rev. Evan Pugh’s settlement and experimental gardens, the plantation settlements of Jolly Webb and Revolutionary War veteran Major Robert Lide, pre-Revolutionary War settlements and houses, the sites affected by British Major James Wemyss as he burned most of the countryside north and south of Florence in 1780, the late colonial town settlement of Long Bluff near modern Society Hill, and the site of the old Florence Hotel (1860-1893) that burned to the ground just a few blocks away from the Florence County Museum. Agha will also discuss important artifacts found at these sites, which are useful in our understanding of who the site inhabitants were, their social status, and how we can use those artifacts to learn more about the past peoples who lived along this stretch of the Pee Dee.

About the Archaeologist: Dr. Andrew Agha has been practicing archaeology in South Carolina and the southeast since 1997 and is currently CEO of Aghatech Industries LLC. He has worked for various private and public entities and institutions and has taught Anthropology at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, the College of Charleston, and Coastal Carolina University. His main research deals with how colonial Carolina origins were influenced and shaped by experimental scientific agriculture, where the intersection of early English sciences, enslaved Africans, and English “country estate” development during the 1670s and 1680s created Carolina’s “plantation society”.

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM – Courtyard

Exhibit Description: Bobby Southerlin will exhibit pottery-making techniques used by local Native-American cultures.

10:45 AM – 11:45 AM – Courtyard

Event Title: Native American Artifact Identification!

Event Description: Folks are encouraged to bring artifacts for identification by an archaeologist.

About the Archaeologist: Christopher Judge has studied Native Americans in South Carolina for over thirty-five years. The lens that informs my research is the anthropological archaeology of precontact cultures. Additionally, Judge has conducted oral history research in living Native American communities throughout South Carolina. Currently, he is the Assistant Director of the Native American Studies Center at USC Lancaster, teaching anthropology and archaeology courses. Judge holds a B.A. (1983) and an M.A. (1987) degree in Anthropology from USC Columbia.

10:45 PM – 11:45 PM – Lobby

Activity Title: Family Activity – Dining Detectives!

Activity Description: Be a Ceramic Sleuth! In this fun, hands-on activity, kids get to become an archaeologist for the day as they piece together broken dishes and uncover how colonists ate, drank, and shared meals — all from a few fragments! Perfect for curious minds — ages 6-12, this interactive station is part puzzle, part archaeology, and a great way to explore colonial dining practices. Come see what stories broken dishes can tell!

About the Archaeologist: Isenbarger has over fifteen years of experience conducting archaeology in the South Carolina Lowcountry for both local and private entities. She has worked on a variety of projects, including plantations throughout the Lowcountry and Bahamas; urban gentry houses, gardens, and markets; and historic and prehistoric Native American sites. Her most meaningful research has explored how the enslaved at Dean Hall Plantation (Berkeley County, SC) made their own pottery for personal cooking and religious uses within their households, and as a commodity in the local markets to earn money to buy necessities beyond their rations. Her current work is uncovering the lives of the colonists and early defenses of the original seventeenth-century British settlement in Charleston.

10:45 AM – 11:45 PM – Lobby

Exhibit Title: Prehistoric Tools of the Pee Dee

Exhibit Description: Archaeologist Scott Jones will conduct an ongoing display and explanatory discussion of various tools and technologies used by the prehistoric peoples of South Carolina.

About the Archaeologist: Since 1986, experimental archaeologist and prehistoric technology specialist Scott Jones has practiced his craft throughout the southeastern US and elsewhere. In South Carolina, he has worked for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Harry Hampton Wildlife Fund, and the US Forestry Service, among others. He continues to consult and work part-time in retirement.

11:45 AM – 1:15 PM – Break for Lunch

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM – Multipurpose Room

Lecture Title: “A History of Mississippian Period Archaeological Research in the Wateree Valley of South Carolina.”

Lecture Abstract: This lecture will present data collected over the last two centuries on a complex Mississippian-period Indigenous society centered near Camden, South Carolina, circa AD 1250-1600. Antiquarians and early archaeologists documented eight earthen mound complexes along the Wateree River, and they and ethnohistorians associate these sites with the province of Cofitachequi. Intensive investigations at three mound complexes by archaeologists from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, over the last fifty years have revealed much about these communities that were among the first in the southeastern US to be visited by Europeans.

About the Archaeologist: Christopher Judge has studied Native Americans in South Carolina for over thirty-five years. Anthropological archaeology of precontact culture is the lens that informs his research. Additionally, Judge has conducted oral history research in living Native American communities throughout South Carolina. Currently, he serves as the Assistant Director of the Native American Studies Center at USC Lancaster, where he teaches anthropology and archaeology courses. Judge holds a B.A. (1983) and M.A. (1987) degrees in Anthropology from USC Columbia.

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Lobby

Portrayal Activity: Converse with an American Revolutionary Reenactor

Portrayal Description: If it’s true that an army marches on its stomach, then the rations afforded to the soldiery of both the Continental and British Armies needed to be supplemented during the protracted War for Independence. In addition to foraging parties from both armies making their presences known across the countryside, local vendors would visit army encampments when they came near, to sell additional items to the soldiers. Ranging from fresh produce, bread, eggs, and cheese, to tobacco and more exotic luxury items like tea, coffee, sugar, wine, and chocolate, petty sutlers had to be licensed to sell by the Quartermaster General of each army. This portrayal invites the visitor to consider what additional foods and comfort items might be offered for sale, as well as how those items affected the health and well-being of the soldiers. Topics of conversation often include how civilians were licensed and how they interacted with the soldiers, as well as discussions of currency and payment, and the cost-benefit analysis of civilians who decided to sell to the army.

About the Archaeologist: Carin Bloom is a public historian, researcher, and programming consultant in Charleston, SC. Carin holds an Honors BA, two MAs, and a PhD ABD in Anthropology, all with specializations in Historical Archaeology of the American Revolution. She is an archaeologist and public historian by training, specializing in the history of the 18th century in America. Carin believes that immersive experiences help history come alive for those interested in exploring the past – she presents both in first- and third-person narratives. Carin focuses on lesser-known historical figures; those whose stories have not been told in the past have still made important contributions, including the licensed petty sutlers of the armies of the American War for Independence.

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Lobby

Activity Title: Family Activity – Dining Detectives!

Activity Description: Be a Ceramic Sleuth! In this fun, hands-on activity, kids get to become an archaeologist for the day as they piece together broken dishes and uncover how colonists ate, drank, and shared meals — all from a few fragments! Perfect for curious minds — ages 6-12, this interactive station is part puzzle, part archaeology, and a great way to explore colonial dining practices. Come see what stories broken dishes can tell!

About the Archaeologist: Isenbarger has over fifteen years of experience conducting archaeology in the South Carolina Lowcountry for both local and private entities. She has worked on a variety of projects, including plantations throughout the Lowcountry and Bahamas; urban gentry houses, gardens, and markets; and historic and prehistoric Native American sites. Her most meaningful research has explored how the enslaved at Dean Hall Plantation (Berkeley County, SC) made their own pottery for personal cooking and religious uses within their households, and as a commodity in the local markets to earn money to buy necessities beyond their rations. Her current work is uncovering the lives of the colonists and early defenses of the original seventeenth-century British settlement in Charleston.

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Lobby

Exhibit Title: Prehistoric Tools of the Pee Dee

Exhibit Description: Archaeologist Scott Jones will conduct an ongoing display and explanatory discussion of various tools and technologies used by the prehistoric peoples of South Carolina.

About the Archaeologist: Since 1986, experimental archaeologist and prehistoric technology specialist Scott Jones has practiced his craft throughout the southeastern US and elsewhere. In South Carolina, he has worked for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Archaeological Institute of the Pee Dee, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Harry Hampton Wildlife Fund, and the US Forestry Service, among others. He continues to consult and work part-time in retirement.

1:30 PM – 3:30 PM – Courtyard

Exhibit Description: Bobby Southerlin will exhibit pottery-making techniques used by local Native-American cultures.

The Florence County Museum anniversary weekend has been made possible through the incredible support of our volunteers, members, contributors, and our primary media sponsor Post and Courier Pee Dee.