Weekend Wanderings #3: Beautiful Bishopville 🌳🪡🦎

Author

Y'all Waterfall
August 30, 2024

Hi! Happy Friday from Forest Heights in beautiful Athens, Georgia.💚🦌 

The heart arch at Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden & the hearse at the Button Museum

Dang, August flew by in the blink of an eye! Last weekend, I revisited the hidden gem of Bishopville, SC. This is one of those towns that has a surprising trio of cool spots. It’s definitely worth a stop - especially if you’re on your way to the beach.

Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden: Mr. Fryar is now in his 80s and his wild abstract topiaries are getting fuzzy, but his yard is still incredibly inspiring. I hope preservationists can keep the garden thriving for future generations - but art like this is a poignant reminder that our time here is finite. Bonus: Fryar’s neighbors have created their own topiaries - make sure to drive down the whole street!

The Button King Museum: To combat insomnia, Dalton Stevens, the Button King, began covering a denim suit in buttons. The suit took him two years and led to full-blown button mania. He affixed buttons to shoes, guitars, coffins, and cars. Stevens is no longer with us but you can see his colorful button-patterned pieces in the museum he created by his former home.

Aaand for all the cryptid freaks out there, Bishopville also has its own monster THE LIZARD MAN. Head over to the Cotton Museum to see plaster casts of the Lizard Man’s footprints and read the timeline of his sightings. From what we gathered, the Lizard Man likes to attack cars but has not gone after a person yet. You can also grab a Lizard Man sandwich down the road.

HMU with any of your secretly awesome small cities or towns!

Thanks for reading and happy travels! 💖
-Steph