South Carolina Living publishes article - SC's Tiny Lake City Blooms with ArtFields Festival ahead of 2025 event. To view the full article, click HERE!

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April Matthews has been working at her family’s produce store in tiny Lake City since she was a toddler. Her grandfather Ross began operating Matthews Fruit Stand at the corner of North Acline and Sauls streets in 1963, selling snap beans, peanuts, watermelons and much more directly to people on the sidewalk. April has been a fixture there since she was old enough to walk.

“I was helping unload trucks when I was 4,” she says.

Ross Matthews passed away in 2016, and April now runs the business. Her 4-year-old daughter, Daisy, works alongside her, babbling to customers as she plays on her tablet. On the wall outside the stand is a mural of Ross cradling April when she was a small child. It’s called “Papa,” what April called her grandfather, who raised her. “I love it,” she says. “It makes me think about him every day.”

A lot has changed in Lake City since the stand first opened. Once a prosperous farming center southwest of Florence, the town fell on hard times when the tobacco market petered out and the interstate highways passed it by.

But today, the little hamlet of about 6,000 people is undergoing a renaissance. “Papa” is part of a kaleidoscope of murals, sculptures and art galleries that have transformed Lake City into one of the South’s premier arts destinations. There’s a palatable sense of optimism in the tiny town, like a fallowed field, newly plowed and blooming in the spring.

Each April since 2013, ArtFields, a nine-day visual arts festival, has drawn tens of thousands of visitors. Artworks are displayed in every venue imaginable, from newly minted galleries to the corner barber shop. Curated greenspaces line the streets. Landscaped pocket parks have replaced tumble-down buildings. Shuttered storefronts now host boutiques and restaurants. Old warehouses have been renovated into artists’ studios and event venues.

It all springs from the vision of one woman: hometown girl and billionaire financier Darla Moore. Moore earned her fortune financing distressed companies and developed a reputation as one of the toughest women on Wall Street. CNN once described her as “a cross between Terminator and Kim Basinger, with a wicked Southern drawl.” She was the first woman to grace the cover of Fortune magazine. And when the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club—home of The Masters golf tournament—finally allowed female members to join, Moore and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were the first to be invited.

Moore in 2012 scaled back her efforts on Wall Street and, with the world to choose from, decided to move back home, settling in at her grandfather Eugene’s farm just outside of town.

“It was the most special place on earth when I was a child—sheer joy and happiness,” she says while tending the gardens surrounding the ancestral home. She has lovingly cultivated the gardens into Moore Farms, a botanical garden open to the public that focuses on native South Carolina plants. “It was the happiest place in my life. It’s where I feel safest and the most connected.”

Moore also embarked on a program of philanthropy. She donated about $100 million to her alma mater, the University of South Carolina, paying for a business school that bears her name. She also founded and helps fund the Charleston Parks Conservancy, which has donated $25 million for the Holy City’s many parks. And she built the Continuum, a $24 million combination trade school and junior college in Lake City. And those are just a few of her gifts.

But Moore’s love for her hometown is most remarkable. Her foundation has transformed the town using ArtFields as a springboard to a brighter future.

“I thought, ‘What can we do to reinvent ourselves? How could we engage with the public?’ The idea of an art competition came up. I thought, ‘Well, we could try it. What’s the worst that can happen?’ We threw spaghetti on the wall, and it stuck.”

It’s not unusual to see Moore popping into offices or shops to enjoy her town and keep an eye on its progress. On a recent visit, she was spotted hopping out of her Mini Cooper to photograph a tree newly planted near the town’s main intersection.

“All of Lake City is her passion project,” says Phillip “Shady” Rodgers, executive director of Lake City Creative Alliance and an unofficial chief salesman for the town.

DIED ON THE VINE

Oddly enough, Lake City doesn’t have a lake.

First known as Graham’s Crossroads, the town was named for a series of ponds that bubbled up along flood-prone Lynches Creek. It was Lake City’s boggy nature that made it an agricultural marvel. About anything you planted grew. “It was produce in the spring, tobacco in the summer and cotton in the fall,” says Kent Daniels, a former high school teacher who now runs the Lynches Lake Historical Society.

Lake City boasted the nation’s largest auction house for green beans. Strawberries grew in abundance. Cotton fields blanketed the countryside. Tobacco warehouses lined the railroad tracks that led to markets up and down the East Coast. But time passed. Things changed for the worst. Businesses closed. Young people fled. And the once-thriving farm town wilted on the vine.

Rodgers (“Shady” is an old family name, not a reflection of his character) graduated from Lake City’s Carolina Academy in 2007 and vowed never to return. “Lake City was dangerous then. Lots of crime,” he says. “Everything was boarded up. I grew up here and never walked down Main Street.”

Rodgers attended the College of Charleston and graduated from Francis Marion University. But he was drawn back to his hometown in 2014 as it began to blossom with ArtFields, and he now serves as president of the chamber of commerce.

“This place is a hidden gem,” he says.

REBIRTH

A walk around town reveals a creative colony worthy of a big-city arts district. The Moore Foundation operates three galleries with rotating exhibits. The renovated green bean auction house and other nearby warehouses now host upscale corporate meetings and weddings and serve as centers for the festival. Shops fill colorful, renovated storefronts on Main and Sauls streets. A new high-end hotel graces downtown, and a village green ties the town together. There’s even a tricked-out RV park a short walk away.

New restaurants offer fare from brunch and barbecue to late-night cocktails. The Green Frog Social Club is a fully stocked tavern with generously portioned bar food. Piggybacks is a barbecue and catfish joint with a bluesy feel. Baker’s Sweets on Main Street serves brunch and bakes pies and cakes to take home later. And Lake City Bistro offers steaks, chops and seafood in an elegant dining room with an adjoining courtyard. Be aware, however, that alcohol is not served in Lake City on Sunday, and many establishments are closed on Monday.

For the history buff, the Ronald E. McNair Life History Center on Main Street honors the astronaut who grew up in Lake City and was killed in the tragic Challenger accident. It’s housed in a former library that wouldn’t allow McNair, who was Black, to check out books as a child. The center features a large plaza around McNair’s raised tomb. Across the street, the Lynches Lake Historical Society and Museum is packed with displays and artifacts from Lake City’s rich Native American, Revolutionary War and agricultural history.

Despite the artistic flair and upscale vibe, Lake City is still a very small town, and the arts district is even smaller, compressed in a few city blocks. You can walk anywhere.

“We want to keep that small-town feel,” says the city’s mayor, Yamekia Robinson.

‘BUILDING A DREAM’

The celebration of Southern art is Lake City’s new identity, and its ArtFields festival draws the crowds. This year, the festival has selected 370 works from artists across 11 states. The art will be displayed in more than 50 venues that range from the 22,000-square-foot Ragsdale Old Building (the ROB) to the local hardware store and medical clinic.

“They are literally everywhere,” ArtFields Director Caitlin Bright says.

Judges award a grand prize of $50,000 to the first-place winner and $25,000 to the runner-up. Two people’s choice awards will receive $12,500, and five merit winners get $2,000. This year’s judges include representatives of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Academy of Design.

The festival is expected to draw 12,000 visitors, and it will likely grow in the future. The town doesn’t have the hotel rooms to handle bigger crowds right now.

“When we get more hotel rooms, we’ll be able to expand our programming,” Bright says.

The town and foundation are also exploring ways to attract new residents and build affordable housing to keep locals at home. “It’s the next step for us,” Rodgers says.

Although there is plenty to see and do on any given weekend, the festival drives the local economy. “We’re like a beach town with a nine-day summer,” says Jamison Kerr, the foundation’s director of art town development.

So Moore’s foundation and town leaders are working to build Lake City’s year-round appeal. The botanical garden hosts a full calendar of events, from outdoor movie nights and “wine walks” to the popular Beer Fest, held in September. Most events are free. And the three foundation-owned galleries—TRAX, the Jones-Carter Gallery and Acline Studios Gallery—mount exhibits that change nine times a year, drawing crowds on opening weekends.

Acline also offers studio spaces that host up-and-coming and established artists alike, open to the public. Private galleries dot the streets, such as the new Daniela De Art3, owned by Colombian artist Daniela Salgado. She immigrated from Bogotá, Columbia, to Charleston in 2015 when she was 17 years old, attended the College of Charleston and began painting in her home, selling her works online.

“I've been artistic since I was 2 years old,” she says. She moved into Acline Studios this past June and in December opened her own gallery in a brightly painted storefront just down the street.  

“They’re building a dream here,” Salgado says. “And I want to be a part of it.”

Even April Matthews, who grew up in the fruit stand and was leery of the town’s makeover at first, is expanding. She’s opened an ice cream parlor across the street. It’s named “Daisy’s,” after her daughter.

“I didn’t like all the changes at first, with all the cranes and construction going on,” she says. “I didn’t see the bigger picture. But look at the town now.”

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IF YOU GO

The ArtFields 2025 Competition and Festival runs April 25 to May 3.

Artworks will be displayed at more than 50 venues around Lake City from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1–6 p.m. Sunday.

Special events throughout the festival include Lake City Live, Makers Market, Sundown Rundown Artist Talks and the Wet Paint Competition.

For more information, visit artfieldssc.org.  

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LAKE CITY ATTRACTIONS

The fabric of Lake City is woven from a blend of old and new, history and progress—threads that together tell the story of the town and of the art and artists who’ve become the nucleus of its revitalization. Anchors of the town include:

– The ROB. The “Ragsdale Old Building,” a former charcoal briquette warehouse, has been renovated into the city’s largest event venue. The 22,000-square-foot space hosts events from weddings to trade shows and is the ArtFields festival’s main venue. 245 S. Church St.

– The Bean Market. Once the world’s largest green bean auction house, built by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, is now a 10,000-square-foot event venue that adjoins the town’s Village Green. 111 Henry St.

– The Ronald E. McNair Life History Center. The center honors the life of Lake City native McNair, an astronaut who died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion. It features tributes to McNair’s life and career, as well as a 40-desk classroom for educational events and an outdoor memorial dedicated to the astronaut. 235 E. Main St.

– Jones-Carter Gallery. The former feed-and-seed store was renovated into an art gallery and year-round exhibition space, free to the public. It features regional and global artists and hosts such works as “The Devil’s Work” sculptures by Dustin Farnsworth and “Los Caprichos” etchings by Francisco de Goya. 105 Henry St.

– Acline Studios. The arts space features working artist studios and art exhibitions. It serves as a hub for creativity, offering a platform for artists to share their work while fostering public engagement and dialogue. 132 N. Acline St.

– TRAX Visual Art Center. The former warehouse is one of South Carolina’s arts centers. It includes two exhibition spaces, a sculpture garden and artists’ studios. 122 Sauls St.

– Moore Farms Botanical Garden. Lake City benefactor and native Darla Moore has turned her grandfather’s farm into a botanical garden, outdoor art venue and horticultural research center. It’s open from 8:30 a.m to 3 p.m. during ArtFields. 100 New Zion Road

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