Local history
Most of the artifacts on display at the Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina were found locally and donated by area residents “which is beautiful because when we opened the museum, we didn’t have anything,” says director Luther Lyle. Prized artifacts include this intact Cherokee pot, a 250-year old ceremonial drum and jewelry fashioned from Colonial-era British coins.
Photo by Milton Morris
There’s a story behind every exhibit and artifact at Walhalla’s Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina, and these stories connect visitors to a rich culture that runs deep in the state’s history.
Many area residents can trace their heritage to Cherokee ancestors, as Cherokee and pre-Cherokee people lived in the Upstate for thousands of years. At one time, there were at least 27 Cherokee villages in Oconee County alone, says Luther Lyle, the museum’s curator and director.
“It’s a major part of our heritage here, especially in Oconee County,” he says. “It’s part of South Carolina history.”
And it’s a history that local residents were happy to share. Many of the artifacts on display, as well as those being studied and archived in the museum’s back room, were donated by area residents who shared Lyle’s vision for a stand-alone facility to showcase Cherokee history and culture. Prior to the museum’s opening in 2013, there was only a small exhibit dedicated to the Cherokee in the Oconee History Museum.
Each artifact is priceless to Lyle, but one piece on display stands out.
The wooden Cherokee effigy is likely hundreds of years old. It’s about five inches tall and is made out of a pine tree knot. Carved to look like a Cherokee man, complete with detailed facial features like eyes, a nose, cheekbones and a traditional Cherokee hairstyle, it was found on a sandbar in Toxaway Creek at the Cherokee village site of Old Toxaway near present-day Westminster.
Lyle found it mixed in with pottery fragments donated to the museum in five-gallon buckets. When he cleaned it up and placed it on display, word of a significant find spread quickly.
“We had some folks from Cherokee [N.C.] come here and look around at the exhibits. And they got really interested in this piece,” Lyle says.
They offered to buy the effigy, but Lyle said it wasn’t for sale. A few days later, the prospective buyers called back and asked Lyle to name his price. His answer remained the same.
“It’s not for sale,” Lyle says. “I don’t care how much you offer. It was found here and it will stay here.”
Hugh Lambert, the museum’s board chairman and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, says the rare effigy was likely used in religious ceremonies and rituals. Keeping it and other artifacts on public display is at the heart of the museum’s mission to preserve Cherokee history and culture, he says.
“People should be reminded that the history of the Cherokee is an American story.”
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Get There
The Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina is located at 70 Short Street in Walhalla.
Hours: Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: Free.
Details: For more information visit cherokeemuseumsc.org or call (864) 710-9210.