The years just before the First World War were a time of great cultural change in the sleepy southern village of Summerville. International attention was focused on Summerville as a health resort and the home of American grown tea at the Pinehurst Tea Gardens. Successful, sophisticated people with education, money and many new ideas were building beautiful homes, becoming part of our social fabric and humming the tune of "Alexander's Ragtime Band." The railroad had brought in many new visitors and business opportunities for several years. As a result, bed and breakfast houses and lavish hotels like The Pine Forest Inn became increasingly popular attractions. Indeed, Summerville quickly became an up and coming town even with a few presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft finding their way to the humble "Flowertown in the Pines". |
The Summerville Museum is an educational organization dedicated to preserving the historical significance of Summerville. Its mission is to collect, preserve and exhibit artifacts, and to develop educational programs relating to the cultural and natural history of the Summerville area of South Carolina.
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