The Horry County Museum and the AVX Foundation present a lecture by Eric Emerson on Saturday, February 29^th, on the history of the South Carolina state flag.

South Carolina has had a number of flags over the course of its history, and two have been approved by the General Assembly. The second of these was created by A.S. Salley, the first Secretary of the South Carolina History Commission (now known as the South Carolina Department of Archives & History), with help from Clemson College and a little-known friend in Charleston. In this lecture, Dr. Emerson will recount the tale of a man whose claims to be the authority on South Carolina history led the General Assembly to task him with re-creating the state flag. His design would be the forerunner of today’s banner, the nation’s second most popular state flag.

Dr. Emerson is the director of the South Carolina Department of Archives & History (SCDAH). He received his Bachelors of Arts in History from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte and his masters and doctorate in History from the University of Alabama. Prior to coming to SCDAH in 2009, he served as the executive director of the Charleston Library Society and the South Carolina Historical Society.

The program will begin at 1 pm in the McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway SC. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcgmuseum@horrycounty.org.