Hidden Treasure in South Carolina

One of the neatest byproducts of open the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum has been getting the opportunity to meet so many different people. People have come into the museum from all over the world and understanding their automotive perspective is always intriguing. Some people are drawn to the brass-era cars, while others skim pass those cars and admire the the vehicles from the 50’s.  I strive to have a variety on display so visitors can appreciate the diversity of the automotive world.

Having some of the vehicles on display in the museum for sale also gives me the opportunity to see some of the private collections the vehicles will eventually call home.  Usually, this is in the form of pictures and occasionally short video clips. January 1st however, was special.

If I was a betting man I would have guaranteed the 1967 21 Window VW Bus would have been sold to someone in California.  The funny thing is it almost did.  Not only did the bus almost go right back to California where it had just come from but it almost went to someone who remembered playing around the bus when he was a child.

Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be and the 67 VW Bus was sold to a private collector in South Carolina less than an hour away from the museum.  I was invited to the owners house during his annual get together that was scheduled months after he purchased the bus. Luckily, on December 31st I was reminded about the event by the young man who found the bus for the buyer. I had seen a few pictures of some of the buyers collection so I really wanted to visit and I took my 10 year old son with me January 1st to see the buses new home. 

I was not prepared to see as much as I saw when I arrived.  Not only was the collection amazing and dated back to pre-1900’s in multiple building, but this man had opened up his home to people that wanted to visit.  An authentic southern breakfast and lunch was served with all kinds of goodies. There are two different train lines that circle the property and my son and I got to ride on both. One of the train lines even went through a tunnel.  There was an authentic double-decker bus that we got to ride on which took us to another building on the opposite side of the property which housed the 21 Window Bus and amazing roommates.

The scale of the collection didn’t stop there.  There are endless tractors and farming equipment. Massive steam engines and absurdly loud whistles.  There is cotton weaving equipment set up in it’s own building. There’s a water mill, veneer making equipment and ultimately stuff I have never seen before in my life.

The owner of this collection does not market the event but if you are in the know, you’d want to go.  He charges nothing and offers so much.  I am extremely grateful for the amount of effort that has gone into not only collecting everything, but also giving people the opportunity to see the collection.  One thing I now know is that there is a reason not everyone opens a museum, it is a ton of work. With the help of donations and partnerships I hope to eventually grow the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum to the scale of which this one private collection is, but this collection has obviously taken a lifetime.

I haven’t revealed the names or location of this collection to respect their privacy, but I hope you’ll enjoy some of the pictures I took and who knows maybe one day you will get the opportunity to visit.