New civil rights museum opens in downtown Orangeburg

The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum, formerly in Williams’ home, has been relocated to downtown Orangeburg.

Cecil Williams opened the original museum in his home on Lake Drive in 2019, according to the museum’s website . At 12 years old, Cecil began photographing some of the most historical moments in the civil rights era, including Thurgood Marshall coming to Charleston for the Briggs v. Elliot case.

The new museum location was recenty opened along with two, five-story dorm buildings for South Carolina State University and Claflin University. All of Williams’ photographs and artifacts have been moved to the new building. The reconstruction was completed on the corner of Russell Street and Boulevard Street, also known as Railroad Corner, Wes Lyles, president of Studio 2LR , said in an email.

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Studio 2LR, the architect for the 10,000-square-foot museum, created the redeveloped corner with the historic exterior including the former state theater and college soda shop signage, according to the release.

Cecil Williams was in attendance of the grand-opening ceremony for the museum, as well as Congressman Clyburn, Mayor Michael Butler, the presidents of SC State University and Claflin University,and local council, Lyles said.

According to the release, in addition to Studio 2LR’s architect design, the civil engineer was WK Dickson and Grimball Cotterill led landscape design. MECA, Mabry Engineering Associates and GWAled engineering on the project, Pure + Applied worked as the museum consultant, and the facility was contracted through Pyramid Contracting.

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