Press release from Tryon Downtown Development Association:
The last weekend of the month, August 30 through September 1, Tryon will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of its founding with three days of historical, cultural, interactive, free, family-fun activities – all in downtown Tryon and at Harmon Field.
This Founder’s Day Sesquicentennial marks the day, August 31, 1869, when Lemuel Wilcox, son-in-law of Dr. Leland McAboy of the McAboy Inn (later Mimosa), formally purchased a large tract of land from Columbus Mills with the view of establishing town. This land included the property on which the Town of Tryon presently stands.
Initially called Tryon City, Wilcox spent the next several years plotting and laying out the town, complete with individual lots, street names and the route for the railroad.
The weekend’s events will kick off on Friday evening with an informal panel of local historians – Robert Lange, Alan Leonard, Dr. Joseph Fox, Dr. Warren Carson, Hub Arledge, Julia Calhoun, Pam Wilson and others. The program will take place at the 7:00 p.m. at the Tryon Fine Arts Center with a reception to follow.
Saturday will offer a full day of activity downtown including “Tryon Through the Decades,” a collection of historic displays up and down Trade Street by a large number of organizations, civic clubs and institutions. Historic Tryon figures, including William Gillette, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Eleanor Vance & Charlotte Yale will be on hand in costume and in character for photo ops and to answer questions.
A special performance by the Cherokee Warriors of Anikitauwah will take place on Trade Street in front of the St. Luke’s Plaza at 1:00 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. the Tryon Theater will present special runs of the late Tryon historian Betty Frost’s “Tryon Early On” and “The Visitor.”
The Tryon Historical Museum will have a special exhibit about F. Scott Fitzgerald and at 5:00 p.m. Bruce Johnson, Arts & Crafts expert and author of “Tom, Scott & Zelda,” and Tryon’s own Ambrose Mills will present a program about Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe.
Harmon Field will play host to an encampment of Civil War re-enactors, complete with battle re-enactment, and a forge with ferrier and decorative metal work at Tryon Arts & Crafts.
Tryon’s 150th Anniversary Celebration is being led by the Tryon Historical Museum. All activities are free and open to the public. For any questions or for more information, please contact Julia Calhoun at 843/373-7232 (jutzicalhoun@gmailcom) or Robert Lange at robert@rplange.com
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.