Culture & Heritage Museums

The Culture & Heritage Museums is a family of museums in York County, SC, which includes Historic Brattonsville, the McCelvey Center, the Museum of York County and the Main Street Children's Museum in Old Town Rock Hill. In 1950 the Junior Welfare League opened the Museum of York County as the Children’s Nature Museum of Rock Hill. Exhibits and programming have always included not only natural history, but also cultural history, the arts, and content for adults as well as for children. In 1952 the museum held the earliest known exhibit of Catawba Indian pottery, featuring potters active at that time. The York County Historical Commission was created in 1959 to preserve and maintain a former York County plantation then in a dilapidated state. The Brattonsville Historic District was listed on the National Register in 1971 and named Historic Brattonsville. Restoration was sporadically pursued until the 1980s, when work became more focused, and continues today. The McCelvey Center building has been the home of many institutions dedicated to education. The current facility is comprised of sections constructed in 1903, 1922, and 1956. In 1987 the York School District turned over ownership and operation of the building and one acre of land to McCelvey Center for use as a community and performing arts center. In 2001, following the 1997 merger, the York County Culture and Heritage Commission assumed operation of McCelvey Center.