♪ opening music ♪ ♪ Rock Hill has really changed.

I've seen such growth that I never would have thought.

Housing developments are going up and that means more families are coming in and they're bringing more jobs and they're supporting the community, and when they come to the museums, they're supporting them, too.

The mission of the Museum of York County, we're about collecting, preserving and educating people about the Carolina Piedmont.

The specimens behind me actually represent things that once lived here in the Carolina Piedmont in the ancient past, from the age of the dinosaurs coming forward all the way to the ice ages.

And, so there are specimens of different kinds of saber tooth cats, there are specimens of extinct ground sloths.

All sorts of other animals that you would not have dreamed could have lived here, but were actually called the Carolina Piedmont home in the ancient past.

Most of the exhibits at the museum include some sort of interactive or at least a hands on component.

Children and adults can actually interact with some of the specimens on exhibit.

We have a naturalist center that has over 2000 hands on specimens.

The planetarium at the Museum of York County is state of the art.

It's got a digital projector.

It's full dome projection, which means you really feel like you're sitting under the night sky.

It seats 55 people and the programs are always exciting for people of all ages.

Sometimes they're geared to the younger children and there's even live shows that help you learn what's in the night skies right now.

One of the things we're proud of at the Museum of York County is that we are an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and to be an affiliate of the Smithsonian means that we maintain a certain standard of excellence regarding collecting, preserving and exhibiting our specimens.

And it also grants us access to borrow collections from the museum and the Smithsonian Institution from time to time.

The community can support us by visiting first and foremost.

You can spend a great amount of time here enjoying it with family and friends.

You can also become a member, and membership is a great way to support the museum coming and see what your museum has to offer.

♪ Often times when you are trying to show something symbolizing Rock Hill, you see Civitas.

Civitas was a celebration of a new era in Rock Hill.

In 1988, we were essentially a textile community with 13 textile mills, all of which were closing at t he same time.

So we were in dire economic straits and we had to reinvent ourselves.

So, we envisioned new high amenity business parks because we wanted well-paying jobs and a diversity of business.

And at the end of that process, this sculpture was dedicated to all the people who have worked to make Rock Hill the place that we enjoy now.

Rock Hill had never had a piece of public art.

Everything about the sculpture means something about Rock Hill.

The face of Civitas represents beauty and a kind of southern charm that we think we have in Rock Hill.

The wings start out as bolts of cloth, saying that we began as a textile community and that gave us wings to go on to do bigger and better things.

She's forward leaning.

We're leaning into the future.

We settled on six themes that we were going to build Rock Hill's future around, and Civitas is holding logos over her head that symbolize four of them.

The gears of industry for our diversified business efforts at business parks.

The flame of knowledge because we want to be known as a city of education.

The stars of inspiration is our cultural city.

And the lightning bolt of energy signifies the fact that we own our own electric system and have a robust infrastructure.

And the columns which are from the Masonic Temple in Charlotte, symbolize the history in our part and the region.

And then the gardens that surround the statue symbolize the parks and gardens in Rock Hill, because we have a credible park system.

I think Civitas is an emblem of the spirit of Rock Hill.

In 1988, we had a kind of a civic inferiority complex.

We just didn't know that we could be anything other than what we'd always been.

And with those business parks, we've gotten over 100 new industries to locate in Rock Hill.

That was the legacy of Civitas.

♪ What we're doing on the south side is really about changing the lives of people.

Our whole idea is just to be a welcoming place in a community where people can enjoy good food and good company.

Farmacy actually started off with this little cart that we would just kind of truck around from community to community, going out to local farms, picking up produce and bringing it back and just selling it on Saturdays.

It just kind of grew from there.

We had an opportunity recently to purchase small a 1700 square foot building and it just kind of took Farmacy to a new level.

The local community has really embraced Farmacy.

We're located here on the south side of Rock Hill.

Having somewhere that folks can come and not only get fresh produce and local goods, but also a gathering place for people to meet and have conversation, get a good cup of coffee or tea from our culture cafe and really just kind of embrace what this community has always been.

This has been a Black community that has loved and grown.

There's a lot of pride in this community, and we're just happy that the community has embraced the concept of Farmacy.

We're in the middle of a food desert.

There's no grocery store within walking distance for folks in this community.

You know, it's one thing to teach a child, you know, you reap what you sow, but they've never planted a seed.

They have no idea what that means.

And so as a part of our program, giving young people an opportunity to see what ag is, there's so many principles and good things that they can learn.

You feel like, makes young people better people and a much better appreciation for food and where good food comes from.

A lot of young people feel like there's a farm at the back of the grocery store and they just go and pluck stuff off it, just bring it out.

So now they're getting an opportunity to really see what good food is, and it just tastes better when you grow it.

Some of our butter lettuce right here.

This is actually ready to be harvested.

Urban farming is really where we put a lot of focus on.

And so behind us you'll see our aeroponic greenhouse.

This is something that young people are interested in.

This is, this is science, technology, engineering, math that they get to put to work.

Our community garden features 30 raised beds.

20 of those beds have been set aside for a silver gardening club and it's a great way for the elderly or the community to come out, hang out, great place for them to gather and socialize, have good conversations around food.

I think for a lot of them it's kind of nostalgic because many of them remember a time when everybody in the community had a backyard garden.

And then our last ten beds have been set aside for our upcoming 4-H Club to really start teaching young people that opportunity to grow and get their hands dirty a bit.

Farmacy is really about mind, body and soul.

We feel like food is medicine and so we really want people to stop by and support the community as a whole.

This is our town.

This is our town.

This is our town.

Rock Hill.

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