Florence County Museum
Florence County Museum
4.5
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
The Florence County Museum showcases over 140 works representing 20th-century Southern art, along with works by Florence native, William H. Johnson. Through a range of exhibitions, studios, lectures and family programming, the FCM provides visitors of all ages an educational experience. The Pee Dee History Gallery is home to Native American and Colonial period artifacts as well as Civil War items from the Florence Stockade prison camp and Confederate Naval Yard. Natural sciences exhibits explore regional themes such as the formation of and biodiversity in the Great Pee Dee River. Temporary exhibits also are included.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
60 reviews
Excellent
35
Very good
20
Average
3
Poor
1
Terrible
1
JournalismJamie
Washington DC, DC16 contributions
Jun 2021
This museum is one of the great examples of the growth and marked progress Florence has made in less than a decade. I visited for the weekend, stayed downtown and experienced my hometown as a tourist would-and I have to admit, I liked the look of things.
The museum is a beautiful building and a huge improvement over the creaky converted house near Timrod Park that I used to visit on school field trips.
The museum does a good job of telling the story of the Pee Dee, but I am especially proud of the William H. Johnson exhibit. My hope is the museum acquire more of his work.
Good job, Florence.
The museum is a beautiful building and a huge improvement over the creaky converted house near Timrod Park that I used to visit on school field trips.
The museum does a good job of telling the story of the Pee Dee, but I am especially proud of the William H. Johnson exhibit. My hope is the museum acquire more of his work.
Good job, Florence.
Written 14 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kippy809
Washington DC10 contributions
Aug 2021
Visiting the museum was the best part of my trip. I loved the exhibits and the size of the museum, which was not overwhelming. One of my favorite exhibits was the Civil Rights exhibit and the interactive Timeline Board. There was an exhibit on weaving and you were provided with a miniature weaving board. Nice take-home activities for children. I happened to come across this museum while taking a walk from the Hyatt Place Hotel. The museum was right around the corner from the hotel. I would highly recommend visiting this museum.
Written 20 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kingmoon
66 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
Was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this museum. Goes into the history of Florence county, touches on everything from dinosaurs to slavery and the civil war to famous people from the county and when the u.s.air force mistakenly dropped a nuclear bomb on somebody's farm. It's free and had plenty of parking.
Written 10 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cheryl h
Durham, NC57,976 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
Usually the smaller county museums can be boring and poorly put together. This one is just the opposite. They cover everything and did a great job laying it out. My favorite exhibit was about the Mars Bluff Bomb Incident where an unarmed nukie bomb was dropped on Mars Bluff. We had never heard about this happening so we learned something very interesting. There is a lot of information about it on the web if you want to learn more about it. You really should stop if you are passing through the area. The admission is free but they welcome donations.
Written 20 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1979SE
110 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
We selected this museum out of curiosity, because of its newness and situation in Downtown Florence redevelopment. Adequate parking is available adjacent to the building and across the street. The museum is proximate to what was a high crime area, but it seems the City has made dramatic improvements in that area and we felt quite comfortable there.
The museum is new, very clean and in excellent repair. We were welcomed by two staff members who were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Half of the museum is focused on regional history, while the other half displays drawings and paintings. Much African American history is recounted by exhibits in both sections. Exhibits address many time periods, from the days of wooly mammoths and land bridges, to the Revolutionary, Civil and World Wars, to the region's contemporary transition from an agricultural-based economy to industry and service.
Behind the museum is a quiet, walled courtyard that features Palmetto trees, propellers from a Confederate vessel built in Florence County, a bell from the old city hall, a "landslide" sculpture and joggling boards. While there is a Lego wall that kids can interact with, the museum is more adult-oriented and small children may lose interest absent an adult to interpret exhibits for them.
Photography IS allowed in the museum, but flash is NOT. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to watching the museum grow.
The museum is new, very clean and in excellent repair. We were welcomed by two staff members who were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Half of the museum is focused on regional history, while the other half displays drawings and paintings. Much African American history is recounted by exhibits in both sections. Exhibits address many time periods, from the days of wooly mammoths and land bridges, to the Revolutionary, Civil and World Wars, to the region's contemporary transition from an agricultural-based economy to industry and service.
Behind the museum is a quiet, walled courtyard that features Palmetto trees, propellers from a Confederate vessel built in Florence County, a bell from the old city hall, a "landslide" sculpture and joggling boards. While there is a Lego wall that kids can interact with, the museum is more adult-oriented and small children may lose interest absent an adult to interpret exhibits for them.
Photography IS allowed in the museum, but flash is NOT. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to watching the museum grow.
Written 6 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt A
New Bern, NC29 contributions
Jun 2018 • Business
My family loves museums, even our three-year-old. On the way home from a trip, we spent the night in Florence and decided to catch the museum before we left town the next day. The staff was friendly, pointed out a children's activity in one of the galleries and that it was Family Day and that the activities would happen between 1-3 (which was a bit odd since that's prime nap time for a lot of families). The galleries were nice but I got the feeling that the museum is run by someone with a lot of experience with collections and not much in connecting those collections with the patrons of the museum.
Written 18 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rosemary D
North Providence, RI38 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
This museum is worth a trip, if you find yourself in Florence, South Carolina. American military history is on display and arranged chronologically. Interesting to both young and old.
Written 3 March 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa L
5 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
A great place to go and learn about the surrounding area's history. It's small and doesn't take a whole lot of time to walk through, but they have a lot of neat pieces of history. It's worth a trip!
Written 22 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ambeex
Richmond, VA27 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
Great find! Informative on the local history. Must stop in Florence. You should try out the joggling benches in the courtyard!
Written 3 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kathleenMdee
Charleston, SC165 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
Wanting to spend an hour or two by myself on a Saturday post-brunch, I wandered into the large, contemporary building that is the Flo Co Museum. Expecting some pottery and historical displays, I was blown away at the caliber of artifacts presented. The upstairs left gallery present works of art by local artisans and painters, and to the right, one can learn the region's geological and cultural history (think historic fossils, several wars, and rice, cotton and tobacco narratives). A neat courtyard in the back of the property showcases plants suited to the Pee Dee region so patrons can learn about native gardening and the legacy of "swept yards". When I visited, there was a vibrant textiles exhibit in one of the downstairs galleries, which I'm assuming rotates artists on a fairly regular basis, so I will certainly return soon to discover more!
Written 14 September 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
flocomuseum
Florence, South Carolina
Admission and parking are free. There are also free public tours on the third Thursday of every month at 2pm and on the first, second, and fourth Thursdays of every month at 6pm during extended hours. In addition, Family Day is a free event on the second Saturday of every month. Holiday Open House: A Year-End Family Day Event is on December 8 from noon to 3pm. View the calendar on our website under News > Events and plan your visit with parking, accessibility, and guidelines info under Visit.
Written 30 November 2018
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