Hunley reopening this weekend for visitors
June 16, 2020
Tours Will Follow Recommended Safety Guidelines
The Hunley will reopen this Father’s Day weekend for visitors during limited hours. Tours will run from 10.00AM – 2.00PM on Saturday and Sunday and reservations are recommended. The volunteers and staff will be following the best practices recommended by the Center for Disease Control as well as the South Carolina-specific recommendations made by the Governor’s accelerateSC task force.
Kellen Butler, Friends of the Hunley Executive Director, said, “The Hunley lab is fortunate to have large, open spaces for our exhibits which help support social distancing. We are excited to be able to again open our doors and teach history lovers of all ages about the development of submarines.”
Since the Hunley is reopening on Father’s Day weekend, Dads will be given a replica of the gold coin found in the crew compartment. The coin is a famous artifact and saved the life of Hunley Captain George Dixon in 1862 when it deflected the impact of a bullet. The coin was found inside the submarine with his remains. It is bent from the impact of the bullet and inscribed with “My life Preserver.”
On the evening of February 17, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the world’s first successful combat submarine by sinking the USS Housatonic. After signaling to shore that the mission had been accomplished, the submarine and her crew of eight mysteriously vanished. Lost at sea for over a century, the Hunley was located in 1995 by Clive Cussler’s National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). The innovative hand-cranked vessel was raised in 2000 and delivered to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, where an international team of scientists are at work to conserve the submarine for future generations and piece together clues to solve the mystery of her disappearance. The Hunley Project is conducted through a partnership with the Clemson University Restoration Institute, South Carolina Hunley Commission, Naval History and Heritage Command, Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment/Naval Base Museum Authority, and Friends of the Hunley.
