March 17, 2004 journal, a day with the Federation of Museums in Society Hill on Pee Dee Real butter is better to digest at body temperature and burn as fat than margarine I believe. The Cotton Museum at Bishopville and Cheraw, South Carolina has so much history that go back to the days of the Indians. Hartsville, S.C. is the heart of farming and home of the Coker's Pedigreed Seed Farm. I have never walked this way before but sure appreciate it because I grew up on a farm. Hundreds of thousands of acres was given by King George of England to the settlers here and they limited it to 250 acres per person. This seemed to be the gate way to the South via the Pee Dee River. Until today I never knew there was a Society Hill City, founded in 1736, in the world. This is Saint Patrick's Day for the Irish. Speaking of green, there's a lot of it here. Due to the interstate highways we miss the best part of the state and especially this rich farmland along the Pee Dee River. The 2004 annual conference of the South Carolina Federation's of Museums annual meeting is held here this year in the Fairfield Inn in downtown Hartsville with a bus tour to the museum's and landmarks of this area. Dinner was at the New Coker Farms Museum building and historical landmark is located at 1257 South 4th Street with live bluegrass music and a barbecued chicken rice buffet with all the trimmings. The Mayor of Hartsville fixed my plate and there was iced tea to drink. The speaker was a 42 year veteran of the Coker Farms plant breeding program that may be responsible for what is known as genetic altering today. Coker Farms originated hybriding of grains and shipped seed all over the world for many years. The people were so polite making the guests feel very welcome. The Coker Farms National historic landmark is located now on part of the original 1000’s of acres south of Hartsville. Founded by David Coker in 1914. The company developed new improved varieties of crop seed. The Coker Pedigreed Seed Company had the first commercial cotton breeding program in the United States. Exhibits depicting the company's impact on Southern agriculture are housed in a replica of the original dairy barn at the site. Cheraw was the temporary headquarters for General Sherman in his burning of the South Crusade during the Civil War. The Lafayette House was the site of a grand ball and honor of the Marquis, built in 1823; it is one of the most than 50 antebellum buildings in the Cheraw historical district. "Cheraw takes pride in it preservation efforts, its commitment to the arts, recreation, good schools and government. We love company and the chance to show off! "Cheraw State Park is the oldest and one of the largest in South Carolina State Parks, offering camping, golf, swimming and boating”. "Come and linger a while at the old Saint David’s Church, used as a hospital by the 71st Highlanders during the Revolution, and again by Sherman's Union Army "in the late unpleasantness". Come stroll through the surrounding cemetery where soldiers from every American war lie buried alongside bad this British soldiers and Moses Rogers, commander of the Savannah. Read the inscription on the oldest Confederate Monument in the world, edited by Yankee occupation commander. The Pre Conference tour called High Cotton! exploring the South Carolina Cotton Trail. This tour will follow the thread Cotton was woven through the byways of the historic towns of Hartsville, Society Hill and Cheraw. "The Prettiest Town in Dixie, for more than two centuries cotton barons built their houses and life was good when cotton was King”. The other side of good times was the lean years of sharecropping and the boll weevil. “Come experience them all: the mansions, significant breakthroughs, cotton fields and market towns as we explore 3 of the 6 towns located on the South Carolina Cotton Trail”. What a great experience it was. And then it's on East.