State Museum and the City of Charleston working on an extended loan agreement of the Calhoun Monument
February 7, 2022
Officials with the South Carolina State Museum and the City of Charleston are working collaboratively on an extended loan agreement of the John C. Calhoun Monument statue to the State Museum.
Attorneys are currently working to finalize a memorandum of understanding regarding the loan, which would be subject to approval by the SC State Museum Commission and Charleston City Council.
Mayor John Tecklenburg said, “I’d like to thank the State Museum and everyone else who had a hand in this very fine outcome. As I’ve said from the start, I don’t support erasing history, but rather, serious efforts to place complicated figures such as Mr. Calhoun in their full context. And, in this instance, I can’t imagine a more appropriate institution to perform that valuable public service than the SC State Museum.”
In addition to accepting the statue as an extended loan from the City of Charleston, the museum would help facilitate transportation and to monitor the conservation of the monument along with its associated artifacts. With Legislative approval and input, the museum will coordinate a task force with other state agencies and community input to create and execute a long-term storage and interpretive plan for this monument.
“The State Museum looks forward to working with Mayor Tecklenburg and the City of Charleston,” said John F. McCabe, Chairman of the South Carolina State Museum Commission. “We believe the museum will be an important resource in determining an appropriate resolution to the care and interpretation of the monument.”
Currently, the museum is in the process of exploring options for transportation and safe storage for the monument. More details about this process will be made available as they develop.
About the South Carolina State Museum
As the state’s largest and most comprehensive museum, the South Carolina State Museum offers a unique, entertaining and educational experience to visitors throughout its 225,000 square foot facility located in the heart of downtown Columbia’s Congaree Vista. The State Museum is housed in one of its largest artifacts, an 1894 former textile mill listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places. In addition to beautiful meeting spaces throughout the facility, guests can explore outer space in one of the largest planetariums in the Southeast, watch an interactive 4D movie and look through a vintage telescope in a one-of-a-kind observatory. These exciting opportunities are all in addition to the four floors of South Carolina art, cultural history, natural history and science/technology. Visit scmuseum.org to learn more.
