Beech Island Historical Society

04/25/2026

03/17/2026

BIHS meeting on Tuesday, 3/17/2026, at 7:30 pm. Attendance is Free and Everyone is invited to attend.

The speaker will be Alexia Helsley, author, historian, archivist and senior instructor of history & university archivist at the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC-A).
She will be speaking about “Aiken Beginnings” from her book, Lost History of Aiken County.

Please join us.

03/17/2026

Welcome to this week’s AMH Cabinet of Curiosities! Augusta has produced its fair share of musical legends, including highly successful Christian artist, Amy Grant. Grant was born in Augusta on November 24, 1960, while her father completed his residency at the Medical College of Georgia. The family soon relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. Grant got her start in the music industry early, signing her first record deal with Myrrh/Word Records her senior year of college in 1978. She went on to be a successful Christian artist, but it was her crossover record Heart in Motion, that made her a superstar. It is her most successful album to date, going platinum after selling five million copies. The most popular song on the album, “Baby, Baby”, topped the charts for two consecutive weeks in April of 1991.

Her other accolades include six Grammys, twenty-six Dove Awards, including four Artist of the Year Awards, and performances at the Grand Ole Opry and Camp David. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts also awarded Grant the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement in 2022.

Amy Grant is one of the most successful Christian and pop artists of all time. She is also a resilient person, who, in recent years, has faced a few health issues. About her health scares, she has said, “Even in the…worst trauma, beauty and goodness are still present.”

Handwritten Lyrics signed by Amy Grant
Object ID: L2011.009.054
Source: University of Georgia - Special Collections Libraries

03/17/2026

03/17/2026

Welcome to this week’s AMH Cabinet of Curiosities! Born Thelma McQueen in Tampa, Florida in 1911, Butterfly McQueen is one of Augusta’s most iconic actors. Although mostly known for her portrayal of Prissy, a young, enslaved woman, in the classic film Gone With the Wind, McQueen’s path to the silver screen was not an easy one. After her father abandoned the family when McQueen was only 5, her mother sent her to Augusta to live with an aunt. She later relocated with her mother to New York City, where she spent most of her teenage years.

McQueen joined the Youth Theatre Group in Harlem in 1934 to study acting, dance, and music. A year later, she would land the role that gave her the nickname, “Butterfly”. She began performing in an off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as part of the Butterfly Ballet.
At age twenty-eight, McQueen landed the role of Prissy in Gone With the Wind. Although the role played into harmful racist stereotypes, she hoped that it would open doors to less discriminatory acting jobs in the future. In fact, McQueen refused to perform several offensive scenes that had been written for her character, even pushing back against the head scarf that ultimately ended up being part of Prissy’s costume.

Racist attitudes of the time often relegated Black female actors to portraying maids, which, quite often, proved to be the case for McQueen. She once said, “I don’t mind playing maid parts occasionally, but I feel that I would be disgracing my race by always accepting parts as a menial to be not only laughed at but looked down upon.”

She eventually moved back to Augusta where she gave music lessons, appeared on her own radio show, and even opened a restaurant. McQueen continued to perform on Broadway, television, and in a handful of feature films. At the age of sixty-four, she earned a bachelor's degree from City College of New York. She was very involved in her community, sometimes visiting children’s hospitals dressed as Santa Claus.

Sadly, McQueen died in a fire in her Augusta home on December 22, 1995 at the age of eighty-four.

Photograph
Object ID: 2023.016.002
Source: Augusta Chronicle

03/17/2026

The Star Theater was the first theater in Columbia County and was ran by Ernest Hatcher in the 1920's. Here we have a stamp that Mr. Hatcher used at the theater.

If you'd like to learn more about Harlem's history, visit us at the Harlem Museum and Welcome Center!

03/17/2026

SAVE THE DATE and make plans to join us September 9-11, 2026 for in Aiken, SC. Hosted by the County Historical Museum and the Savannah River Site Museum, this year's conference theme is "Witness to History: Place, Storytelling, & Collective Memory."

Museums stand as witnesses to history, holding stories that are deeply rooted in place and community. This theme explores how memory, storytelling, and lived experiences shape our collective identity, inviting us to reflect on the past while envisioning the future.

We'd love to see you there!

11/15/2025

This Tuesday night…. 11/18/2025.
Join us to celebrate Flo Carter’s Birthday!