Library exhibit shows life at Governor’s Mansion
Step into life at the South Carolina Governor’s Mansion through the words of the governors, their wives and their children in a new exhibit on display in the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina.
The exhibit will run through Aug. 31 and is free and open to the public.
“Life in the Mansion,” compiled by South Carolina Political Collections (SCPC), offers a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of South Carolina’s first families. Through text panels and illustrations, the exhibit paints a full picture of life at 800 Richland Street, including First Lady Iris Campbell’s revelation about how the state’s hard-won deal with auto manufacturer BMW was drafted on a cocktail napkin. Also featured is a story by First Lady Ann Edwards about Victoria, the family cat, which refused to leave a dinner being held for dignitaries.
Information for the exhibit was drawn from interviews with the first families conducted by the late George Terry, former dean of University Libraries. The “narrators” of the exhibit range from Ernest F. “Fritz” Hollings, governor from 1959 to 1963, to James H. Hodges, governor from 1999 to 2003, and members of their families.