Peach Museum
Johnston, South Carolina
Components: Interpretive panels; Large-format graphic displays; Replica fruit market stand and roadside fruit cart; Historic implements; Large-format window logo; Rack cards; Postcards; Take-away peach recipes
The Peach Museum is located in The Edgefield County Chamber of Commerce in Johnston, South Carolina. Johnston was once known as the Peach Capital of the World. The goal of the new visitor center museum display is to present the history of the peach, pioneers of the industry, and past and present peach production in Edgefield County.
The Peach Museum contacted The History Workshop after a bad experience with an unsuccessful design project. Needless to say, the museum was operating with very limited resources. We immediately began researching innovative and inexpensive materials to assist the museum in telling their story. In the museum’s display windows, we used large images printed on transparent, double-sided blades to draw visitors in from the street. To recreate the effect of walking though a peach orchard in bloom, we used a photographic wallpaper mural along the narrow hallway connecting the exhibit rooms. Museum staff planned to use the large room at the rear of the building for meetings, as well as for exhibit space, so we created a gallery-type exhibit featuring large fabric image panels, as well as interpretive panels with images and text, along the outer walls of the room.