Statesville’s Biggest Fan: Steve Hill Moves Statesville Historical Collection to New Location
By Meredith Collins, Photos Courtesy of Steve Hill
As a child growing up on Millsaps Rd in Statesville, which was a dead-end dirt road at the time, young Steve Hill started collecting rocks and quartz. His childhood collections soon grew to stamps, postcards, coins and then baseball cards. He started finding postcards with Statesville on them and baseball cards of players from Statesville like Herm Starette.
Finding a Home for the Collection
When he retired from a career in education in 2009, Steve mentioned to Mayor Costi Kutteh, “I think I have enough stuff for a local history museum, do you know of an old building that I could use?” Costi connected Steve with Bill Stiles who owned a balloon factory warehouse on Salisbury Rd across from Black Pontiac. This was the first official “home” for the collection! He was there for around a year and then Marin Tomlin and the board of the Downtown Statesville Development Corporation connected him with a location at 212 South Center Street.
Moving on Up – The Collection’s New Space
Stamey Holland approached Steve with the opportunity to move into a new space downtown, FIVE times larger than the current space. The collection’s new location at 117 South Center Street has been undergoing renovations for the last year. Construction is nearing completion in August 2024. Then, Steve and volunteers will set up the displays and move the collection into the new space, hopefully by late fall 2024.
Stamey Holland is the fourth-generation owner of the old lot #30. Formerly an old hotel that took up the entire block that was burned in a fire in 1918. The Holland family rebuilt the space into the old Ramsey’s department store and then later it was home to Woolworth’s department store and Westmoreland’s Antiques. “Mr. Holland is transforming this building into a show place,” Steve said. “He has renovated the historic 1919 building into what will be for a long time, a jewel in Statesville’s crown.”
The excitement about the new space is contagious!
Special Supporters
Steve’s appreciation for those who have contributed to the collection and provided spaces overflows. “I will be forever grateful to all those who have exhibited their love for their hometown in such special ways,” Steve said. “There are so many other special people who have contributed to the project in special ways. Someday I hope to be able to adequately thank them.”
One of those special supporters is James Wilson. “And the man who dreamed that someday the collection would have such a special place was James D. "Jimmy" Wilson,” Steve said. “His vision is the reason the collection will be available for future generations. He and his wife Vicky provided the seed money to get the project started and his brother Tom has been involved too. The entire family of patriarch G. L. Wilson has jumped in to help at every turn.”
Historical Restoration
The new space is extremely impressive. The outside façade restoration includes replacing brick and having it stamped to look like the original. The spacious inside is separated by lit partitions. Each “cubby” will be set up with its own theme like Military, Haunted Statesville, Hot air ballooning, Sports, South Statesville, etc.Another section in the back left corner is being designed and built by Tom Wilson and Dr. Roger Roark. 240 trains from all before the 1950s have been donated to the collection. They will be set up on shelves and tracks along with furniture and memorabilia from the Statesville Depot.
Tom Wilson building the shelving and tracks for the train section in the new building. (Photo by Meredith Collins)
Love for Statesville
“It’s amazing how many people love our little town,” Steve said. “People have been so kind to ask what can I do and how can I help? The move will take a lot of volunteers and we will want to keep it running and staffed after.” Steve welcomes new volunteers!
The Statesville Historical Collection is not only a beloved resource for locals, but it has attracted visitors from all over the world. “We have had visitors from every state and even other countries,” Steve said. “We had travelers passing through and at least one out of town visitor every day.”
In addition to managing the collection and finding new items, Steve Hill is also an author. One of his books, In the Shadow of the Clock: The History of the Square, Statesville, North Carolina, 1790-1990, documents the stories and images of downtown. The book is available for purchase at GG’s Art Frames Gifts downtown. His next book is nearing completion, Statesville After Dark, this book will tell the darkest secrets about Statesville.
More Info
Want to learn more about the Statesville Historical Collection? Visit their website at https://www.statesvillehistory.com/. Steve welcomes volunteers and donations of items for the collection. Contact him here: Contact Statesville Historical Collection (statesvillehistory.com)
