T. Ed Garrison Remembered as "True Public Servant"

One of Anderson County's longest serving legislators is being remembered for his contributions to the area.

T. Ed. Garrison died Sunday. He was 91.

Garrison was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1958 and served until 1966, when he was elected to the S.C. State Senate, where he served from 1967-1988.

Garrison was instrumental in the creation of the state’s first regional tourism and historic preservation office, Pendleton District Historical, Recreational, and Tourism Commission, to serve Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Counties.  

Pendleton District Commission executive director Vicki Fletcher said Garrison was a “true public servant.”

In a statement issued by the Commission, Garrison was remembered as recognized leader in the areas of agriculture, forestry and natural resources.

Those areas were near and dear to Garrison's heart. The Garrison family farmstead, Denver Downs Farm, is one of the state’s premier agri-tourism sites and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Clemson University's multi-purpose livestock facility and arena is named after Garrison.

He also helped created the SC Century Farm Program and helped establish the former Pendleton District Agricultural Museum.

The museum was given a statewide mission and renamed by the SC Legislature in 2012.

On Friday, the museum will open as the Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of South Carolina with new interactive exhibits and a focus on food as it progresses from the farm to the table, Fletcher said.

The museum will open at 4:45pm on Friday.

“Our goal in naming the state’s agricultural museum was to honor the Garrison family and the memory of Bart Garrison, who perished in a farming accident in 1990,” Fletcher said. “The opening was scheduled many months ago, and most of the family had planned to be there. The Garrison family wants the museum’s opening to go on as scheduled, so we will abide by their wishes. We hope the citizens of South Carolina will come to the event on Friday and join us in honoring this family who has given so much to our region and state.”

Services for Garrison were held today.

Memorials may be sent to the Pendleton District Commission-Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of S.C., P.O. Box 565, Pendleton, SC 29670; the James Bartlett Garrison Memorial Scholarship Endowment, Clemson University, 110 Daniel Drive, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC 29633; or the Benjamin Garrison Sprague Endowment Fund, Clemson University, 110 Daniel Drive, P.O. Box 1889, Clemson, SC, SC 29633.