Horseless carriages: Century-old cars visiting Orangeburg, Calhoun counties

The public is encouraged to visit sites along the tour. There is no cost to the public.

“We’re glad to have them here,” said Santee Cooper Country Executive Director Jane Powell.

The tour is comprised of members of the North Carolina Regional Group Horseless Carriage Club of America.

Fifty-one cars are registered to participate, said NCRG HCCA Tour Chairperson Kathy Kelm.

“The tour is like a family reunion and is multigenerational with children ranging in age from 2 to 12, teenagers and adults from 18 to in their 80s!” Kelm said.

“The most interesting car will be a 1913 Pierce Arrow 66,” Kelm said.

“All of the cars have interesting stories, as one can imagine of cars that have been around for 100 years or more,” she added.

The oldest vehicle registered for the tour is a 1909 Ford Model T Touring car.

Other cars in the tour include: a 1910 Chalmers Detroit 30, a 1910 Rambler, a 1913 Franklin, a 1923 Stutz Bearcat, a 1927 Packard, a Studebaker as well as various Buicks, Chevrolets, Marmons and Model T Fords.

The two days of Orangeburg and Calhoun County tours are Monday, July 15 and Friday, July 19.

Kelm said site-visit times are approximate.

On Monday, July 15, the tour will visit the Elloree Heritage Museum and Cultural Center around 1:30 p.m. It’s located at 2714 W. Cleveland Street. The tour will stay there for approximately one hour.

On Friday, July 19, the tour will visit three sites in Calhoun County: the Golden Kernel Pecan Company, the Calhoun County Museum and Heritage Center and the John Ford Community Center. 

The stop at Golden Kernel Pecan Company is set for 9:30 a.m. It’s located at 5244 Cameron Road, Cameron.

Bill Summers, of Golden Kernel, said it’s the first time for the NCRG HCCA Tour to visit the site.

Their visit has a special meaning to the pecan processing industry too, Summers said.

The late James “Bland” Quantz, an inventor and businessman from the South Carolina Midlands, was a member of the NCRG HCCA.

Quantz stopped by Golden Kernel to buy some pecans one day, Summers said. The Summers family and Quantz soon became friends.

“He enjoyed restoring old cars,” Summers said of his family friend.

Summers noted that Quantz invented the Quantz Rotary Nutcracker, which shelled 1,000 pecans per minute, revolutionizing production.

Summers has a Quantz Rotary Nutcracker at Golden Kernel and will show it to the touring car club, he said.

Summers will also demonstrate to the tourists his late father’s “hand cracker” that was used in the 1920s and show them around the pecan shelling plant.

Golden Kernel Pecan Company is celebrating its 100th year in business this year.

“We’re glad to be put on the itinerary,” Summers said of the car tour.

The next Calhoun County stop is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. at the Calhoun County Museum and Heritage Center, located at 313 Butler Street, St. Matthews.

Then at noon, the tourists will eat lunch at the John Ford Community Center, located at 304 Agnes Street, St. Matthews.

The NCRG HCCA hosts three tours annually: two-day tours in the spring and fall and a week-long summer tour, secretary/treasurer Natalie Weaver said. This is the 72nd annual summer tour for the organization.

The tour will visit sites outside of the T&D Region on Tuesday through Thursday, including:

Moncks Corner

• 9:30 a.m. Tuesday – Ancient Grounds Coffee Shop
• 11 a.m. Tuesday – Old Santee Canal Park
• 12:30 p.m. Tuesday – Gilligan’s
• 1:45 p.m. – Overton Park

St. George

• 9:30 a.m. Wednesday – Davis Bailey Park

Walterboro

• 12:30 p.m. Wednesday – Wildlife Center
• 2:30 p.m. Wednesday – Veterans Victory House

Richland County

• 10 a.m. Thursday – Congaree National Park
• 1 p.m. Thursday – South Carolina State Museum

The National Horseless Carriage Club was established in 1937, with the North Carolina Regional Group National Horseless Carriage Club joining in 1952.

“We currently have approximately 160 members and their families who reside in 15 different states,” Weaver said.

“Cars manufactured before 1928 are welcome to participate in club events. Our club is very family-oriented with many multi-generation families participating and the events are more like family reunions,” she added.