The Dispatch
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Vol. 8, No.25, by Susan Rahn

"Local Slave museum to be featured on national television"

Colleton County's own Slave Relic Historical Museum and Cultural Center will be appearing in a documentary for the Public Broadcasting System. The documentary, entitled "Remembering Slavery" is scheduled to air in the fall of 2004. On May 2, Krisina Cafarella from WNET-TV in NEW York visited the museum and filmed the relics.

The museum has been open to the public for the past year and a half. A grand opening is scheduled for later in the year. Located at 208 Carn Street in Walterboro, the relics are housed in a pre-Civil War home that was once owned by Dr. Frederick Fraser. Danny Drain, the curator, stated that the house is "Very important for a museum."

Drain and his wife have been collecting artifacts for approximately eight years. They plan to expand the existing displays by adding four galleries in the near future. These exhibits would cover the areas of Reconstruction, South Carolina Civil Rights, African American modern art, and African American folk art. Drain also hopes to add a conservation laboratory.

Since the beginning of this year, approximately 250 people have visited the museum. Some of the visitors have been from Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York. Drain said that many people come from Charleston and Summerville. Just recently, a group of students from the University of North Carolina visited.

"We're really interested to educated and bring tourism in," said Drain.

The museum is currently opened to visitors on Friday and Saturday from 9 AM until 5 PM. Anyone interested in visiting on another day can contact Danny Drain at 549-9130 to make an appointment.