A piece of Clemson University history is now in Ohio being restored and preserved for future generations to view and learn from.
The one-horse carriage that belonged to Clemson University founder Thomas Green Clemson was delivered to Weaver Wagons in Dalton, Ohio, in late March, where it will be restored to its original condition in a process that will take more than a year.
The carriage was formerly housed in Sikes Hall when it was the library, but it was moved out in 1966 when Cooper Library opened and Sikes Hall was converted to administrative offices. From 1966 to 2019 it sat in the carriage house at Pendleton’s historic Woodburn Plantation, where it was largely forgotten. One former Clemson resident, however, didn’t forget.
Jim Thompson, now a resident of Isle of Palms, grew up in Clemson. He has many fond memories of campus, especially spending time in the library in Sikes Hall.
“The grandeur of the College was the library, now Sikes Hall. It was majestic, the first thing one would see coming into town from the east,” he recalls. “The library held story time for us children in the summers. Our education included learning the Dewey Decimal System as we grew older. That made us feel quite smart! We loved the library at it seemed to love us.
The library in Sikes Hall in 1950. The carraige can be seen on the second floor in the upper left corner.
“Entering it was almost like entering a holy place … quiet, polished floors, decorum ruled. A second-story balcony overlooked the first floor, a small museum with many Cherokee Indian artifacts that one could still find as new dirt was turned for development, including our new house on Riggs Drive. And it had one more beautiful thing to behold … there on the second floor was the gleaming, polished, elegant carriage that had been Mr. Clemson’s. This was real, more personal than Calhoun’s Mansion.”
In 2019, Thompson was serving on the South Carolina Historical Society’s Board of Managers. He was attending a board event at Woodburn and saw the carriage in the carriage house on a tour of the plantation. It was not in good condition.
“The docent took us out to the barn, opened the doors and explained that what we were seeing was the rotting carriage that had belonged the Thomas Clemson. Just sitting there … no protection, no HVAC, no respect. I was shocked, angry, disappointed and in a way, offended,” he said. “It deserved more than being a rotting relic in an old barn.”
Thompson offered to help cover the cost of restoring the carriage, and thanks to his support, that work is currently underway. The carriage will one day be on display at the proposed Clemson History Museum and Interpretive Center.
“We’re in a very exciting time. There’s a lot of interest in Clemson history and a lot of people want to support our efforts to bring this history to life, to let people see it and engage with it,” said Clemson University Historian Otis Pickett. “We don’t want this carriage stored away where no one can interact with it. We want to restore it so people can engage with it for decades and decades to come.”
The carriage dates back to the 1840s, and Pickett said the work being done on it right now should also help reveal more about its origins. He said it would have likely been used for travel around the local area, such as to meetings in Pendleton. Pickett said it was a relatively small carriage for someone of Clemson’s stature, who stood about 6’6”.
Pickett said he hopes seeing the carriage will inspire others the same way it did Thompson all those years ago.
“Being in a Clemson history museum as a child led him to make this gift to help save this piece of our past,” said Pickett. “Being able to see and interact with history is about more than learning dates. It changes people.”