Greenville County Square exhibit celebrates Furman Bicentennial, people and places

An exhibit celebrating Furman University’s Bicentennial is on display at Greenville County Square through mid-August. In “The Promised Land: A Bicentennial Celebration of Furman and Greenville,” six dual-sided panels follow Furman’s 1850 arrival to Greenville and highlight Furman figures who have impacted the city and the Greenville people who gave their resources, time and talents toward Furman’s development.

Courtney Tollison ’99, Department of History. Photo by Dear Lissie Photography.

“There’s obviously great overlap and synergy in that approach, but we tried to present it from both sides,” Courtney Tollison ’99 said. Tollison, Distinguished University Public Historian and Scholar, said she hopes viewers will come away from the exhibit with a greater sense of Furman’s early legacy as a downtown campus. She also wants to introduce the public to some lesser-known personalities who helped build the university’s identity.

Sociologist Laura Ebaugh is one example. A faculty recruit of Furman President Bennette E. Geer in the 1930s, Ebaugh worked with future President Gordon W. Blackwell to create the Greenville County Council for Community Development, an initiative to help the Greenville community through programs addressing adult learning, public health and civic engagement, especially in rural areas.

Laura Ebaugh, Sociology. Photo: Special Collections and Archives.

“It’s the earliest example I’ve seen of Furman students using Greenville as a learning lab in ways that contributed to improving the quality of life in various sectors – from health care to race relations,” Tollison said. “Laura Ebaugh implemented this type of very early engaged learning – getting students out into the community, taking them to hospitals and courtrooms, and having them advocate for Greenvillians in various capacities.”

The exhibit sheds light on 32 other alumni, faculty and friends with deep Furman roots – Nick Theodore, Stewart Spinx, Susan Thompson Shi, Judy Bainbridge, Lillian Brock Flemming, Dick Riley, Virginia Uldrick, Vince Perone and C. Dan Joyner are just a few of the honorees.

Vintage photo of Furman’s bell tower at the downtown campus. Photo: Furman University Special Collections and Archives.

It’s no coincidence the exhibit found a temporary home at University Ridge, once Furman’s own stomping grounds. Like the Reedy River that ribbons through the heart of Greenville, Furman’s traditions and student life were woven into the fabric of downtown for more than a century – from the university’s former campus on the site now occupied by the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities to Heritage Green, where Greenville Woman’s College once stood and merged with Furman in the 1930s.

“I don’t want us to lose an appreciation for that 100-year period in our history as a downtown campus,” Tollison said. “I hope this exhibit will serve as an interesting and compelling reminder of that, but will also emphasize, through the people represented, the ways Furman and Greenville have continued to shape each other.”

The exhibit was made possible through a grant from the Thriving Communities Advisory Team. It was curated by Tollison, Elizabeth Scott ’26, Pender Raymond ’27 and Bryant Garrison ’25, with graphic design expertise from Rick Jones ’90 of Furman University Libraries. Students in Tollison’s public history class, “Museums, Movies, and Monuments,” were integral to the exhibit’s installation.

First debuted in Timmons Arena in April for the 2026 Paladin Pitch Contest, Furman Engaged, and Bell Tower Ball, “The Promised Land” will move from Greenville County Square to the Crescent Startup Community on Poinsett Highway in mid-August. Then, it will return to campus in time for Furman’s Bicentennial Homecoming festivities.