The Horry County Museum presents a lecture by Eric Emerson on Saturday, July 25^th at 1 PM, on the history of the South Carolina state flag.

This year marks the 250^th anniversary of American independence, but it also marks the origins of South Carolina’s state flag. Although our state has had a number of flags, only 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 Revolutionary War origins of our flag and explain how Salley convinced the General Assembly to task him with re-creating the state’s first official flag. His design would be the forerunner of today’s banner, the nation’s second most popular state flag.

Dr. Emerson is the sixth director of the South Carolina Department of Archives & History (SCDAH). He also serves as State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and State Archivist. 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 be held 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 hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. To view a full list of programs, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.