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Winyah Indigo Society Hall

SC PICTURE PROJECT 1 Comment

SC Picture Project / Georgetown County / Winyah Indigo Society Hall

Winyah Indigo Society Hall in Georgetown looks today much as it did in the historical photos below. The society was formed by Georgetown planters more than 250 years ago as a “convivial club.” Beginning in the early 1740s, these wealthy men met in a tavern on the first Friday of every month to discuss news from England as well as matters pertaining to the lucrative indigo industry. (Some sources say it was Nathaniel Tregagle’s Old Oak Tavern on Bay Street, and others say it was a tavern at the corner of Front and Broad streets.) Indigo, Georgetown’s first cash crop, was used to make blue dye, and in fact, tradition holds that early members could pay membership dues with a portion of their harvest. Thomas Lynch, Sr., owner of Hopsewee Plantation and a representative to the Continental Congress, was the society’s first president.

Winyah Indigo Society Hall

Bryan Maleckar of Georgetown, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Winyah Indigo Society received its official charter from King George III in either 1757 or 1758 (sources differ). A few years earlier, in 1753, the society had established one of the nation’s earliest free schools, the Winyah Indigo School. Nearly a century later, in 1857, the society built this hall to replace an earlier structure. It was designed by renowned architect E.B. White, who created many notable South Carolina structures, including the French Hugeunot Church in Charleston. The school met here before moving to its own building, completed in 1908.

Winyah Indigo Society Hall Historical

Internet Archive Book Images, The Romance of Lower Carolina, 1915

The Winyah Indigo Society also sponsored the creation of the Georgetown Library Society towards the end of the eighteenth century. The library society collected news materials from major American cities as well as London and Edinburgh. When the society hall was built, the collection was housed in the new facility. The Civil War broke out shortly after the hall was completed, and classes were disrupted when Union troops used the hall as a hospital. The school reopened in the hall in 1872. Materials preserved during the occupation of the building are now housed in the Georgetown County Public Library.

Winyah Society Hall Postcard

Boston Public Library, Tichnor Brothers Collection, circa 1930-1945

In 1894, President Glover Cleveland visited Georgetown and made a speech before the society’s members. Today the Winyah Indigo Society Hall serves as a popular event venue. It was fully restored in 2004 and stands as one of Georgetown’s most distinctive landmarks. The society remains active and awards an annual scholarship to the valedictorian of Georgetown High School.

Winyah Indigo Society Hall

Bryan Maleckar of Georgetown, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Interior Pictures of Winyah Indigo Society Hall


Winyah Society Hallway

Paige Sawyer of Georgetown, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Winyah Society Hall East Room

Paige Sawyer of Georgetown, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Winyah Society Hall West Room

Paige Sawyer of Georgetown, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Winyah Society Hall Ballroom

Paige Sawyer of Georgetown, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Winyah Indigo Society Hall is listed in the National Register as part of the Georgetown Historic District:


Third oldest city in South Carolina, Georgetown is significant historically, militarily, agriculturally and architecturally. Georgetown was laid out as a city in 1729. In 1735 Georgetown was conveyed to three trustees. A plan of the city was attached to the deed and was the first plan to be preserved. Included in the plan were 174.5 acres for the town and 100 acres for a commons. The town acreage was divided into blocks by five streets running at right angles to the river. Much physical evidence of the past remains. The oldest existing structure in Georgetown is a dwelling which dates from ca. 1737. There are approximately twenty-eight additional 18th century structures as well as eighteen buildings erected during the 19th century prior to the Civil War. The existing structures—homes, churches, public buildings—are of both historical and architectural significance and are situated on heavily shaded, wide streets. The architecture ranges from the simplicity of early colonial, or Georgian, to the elaborate rice plantation era, such as Classical Revival.

Plan Your Trip: Winyah Indigo Society Hall

Where is Winyah Indigo Society Hall located?
Address: 509 Prince Street, Georgetown, SC 29440
GPS Coordinates: 33.365140,-79.279220
Website: http://www.winyahindigohall.com/
What else should I see?
Heriot-Tarbox House 0.2 mile
Georgetown Shrimp Trawler 0.3 mile
Georgetown County Courthouse 0.3 mile
Georgetown Town Clock 0.3 mile
Show me more like this!
  • Georgetown Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Historical Photos
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  • See other South Carolina National Register
    Winyah Indigo Society Hall Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. David McNeill Privette says

      April 18, 2017 at 1:16 PM

      My mother was Myrtle Louise Tyson, oldest daughter of Frank J. & Susie M. Tyson. I have often heard my mother speak of the Society and I believe she told me that she was one of the young ladies who “came out” in the Society’s Halls. Can you confirm any of this for me. Mother passed away in 1988 at age 83. At that time she lived in Princess Anne, MD.

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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