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You've probably driven past this place a hundred times - but have you ever stopped?
We did... and, for no admission fee, stepped into forgotten history... entering through the right side of the building, we climbed a double flight of stairs and found ourselves in a high-ceiling room packed with artifacts from a heyday past.
A true-to-life scale model of all 30 miles of L&C track fills most of the room, complete with tiny replicas of landmarks and train cars. Countless photos line the walls - showing everything from the first engines to roll down the tracks, to a swimsuit-clad Miss Springmaid staring out from her perch astride the kiddie train at Springs Park, to shots of borderline debauchery onboard the L&C railcars; naked legs with impossibly high hem lines had us double-checking the photo's dates!Proposed as a way to link distant regions of the country, the 1873 Cheraw & Chester railway was to be part of a larger system that would allow for the transporting of products to and from the South... but after the investors had supplied enough money to build 30 miles of track from Chester to Lancaster, they ran out of money! The track to Cheraw was never completed and, in 1896, went into foreclosure. Leroy Springs, owner of Springs Cotton Mills, bought the railway at an incredibly steep discount, changed the name to Lancaster & Chester (aka 'Springmaid Line') and began using the railway as a traffic base for moving materials between his mills.
The L&C has seen its share of history, tragedy and notoriety. Elliott Springs took over after his father's death in 1931, adding more cars over the years and appointing 29 vice-presidents (including strip-tease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, Vice President of Unveiling), many of whom were later known for their propensity to party hard. More of Lancaster's history under Elliott's watch will be detailed in future posts on 29seven20...
The museum may be small, but has so many items in its collection that it was impossible to look at everything during the hour we spent there! The listed hours are 10am-4pm on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month; but it's a good idea to call beforehand (803-286-2102) when planning a visit.
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Author's Note: Many thanks to Sylvia Beckham! For a spoiler alert style peek at the museum, visit their website. Or view our Flickr photos.
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