An Edgefield Day

If I thought Abbeville was rural, I had another thing coming. Today I visited Edgefield. It’s a little bit of a drive but once you get there, lots of small town charm abounds. I visited two potters in the area – both with different styles. 

Jane Bess does more commercial and seasonal pottery while Edgefield Pottery has some historic slant to the work they produce. Jane was lovely enough to demonstrate some of her techniques to me and has some interesting community causes she is involved with. More on that later. Meanwhile, Justin at Edgefield Pottery has a semi-museum of sorts going on in his space with found objects dating back to a few hundred years. All the pottery done there is with the special local clay abundant in the area and the designs date back to the days of when pottery first began in Edgefield and follow through on the works originally done by Dave the Slave. History nerd in me read up on that so check a later post for more info. 

I also checked out the National Wild Turkey Federation Museum – yes it is located here, I am not sure why but I guess it’s a good thing for the area. I learned a lot about turkeys, more than I need to know, but the museum does share tons of info on turkey hunting and preservation, so if that’s your thing then this is a good experience. 

A short break at Edgefield Grill for lunch and I was on my way to Emerald Farm to check out the Saanen goats, mini train workshop and surprise – peacock paradise! The goats are known for the milk, which is used in the soaps and lotions manufactured here. They have a hobby shop with all kindsa knickknacks in there. Kids and grown males will probably go berserk in here. Also the model railroad clubhouse is pretty neat. Its like fairy tale land, with train tracks all over. The attention to detail is commendable. 

Once back in Abbeville, I did check out two of the historic homes there – the Burst Stark house and the McGowan Barksdale Bundy house before getting some coffee at the one coffee shop there and then dinner at the Village Grille. I do wish I had more time to check out additional attractions in the area including the Edgefield Inn, the Carolina Moon Distillery, the Palmetto Shooting Complex and the Turkey Shoppe on Main. I guess I will just have to go back sometime. If you have been, please let me know your thoughts.