“If you like the color of my clothes,
Would you give me buttons, instead of a rose.
Buttons can be square or round,
They keep my pants from falling down.”

We came to the Button Museum to see “buttons, buttons and more buttons”! Instead we met a warm heart passionate man that for over 20 years sewed and glued about a million buttons on things that he loved.

When I pulled up in front of the museum there was no one in sight, no cars parked nearby and the hangar door was locked. It was Sunday right before noon when most people go to church. “Bummer”, I thought I’ll need to come back another time. Then here comes this tall silvered haired smiling man followed by a little feisty dog. He waved at us. “So you want to see my buttons? Well come on in.” I’ve just met the “Button King”, Mr. Dalton Stevens.

Mr. Stevens was very, very friendly during this personal tour. He was especially attentive to my little girl and answered all of her questions (you can imagine what a 4 years old would come up with seeing toilet seats, cars and coffins covered in buttons!). He volunteered to put on his signature button covered suit (his first creation) and have his picture taken with Lana in front of its famous Chevrolet. Later on he gave me his card and autographed a poster to take home. A lady relative was nice to give Lana 2 yummy home-baked chocolate chip cookies.

The Button King liked very much the fact I was from Romania. He insisted I signed and mention it in his Guest Book. I was more than happy to oblige.

Funny and interesting facts:

• Dalton Stevens started sewing buttons in the 1980s to keep himself busiy while dealing with insomnia
• His marquee Chevrolet car is covered in almost 150,000 buttons. The singer has about 30,000 and took 2 years to complete. The guitar next to it is covered in 5,000 buttons. Mr. Stevens used to hand pick the buttons himself, although by his own admission he wasn’t “too picky about it”.
• The Button King appeared several times on Carson, Letterman and The Today shows.
• Married for over 50 years with children, grand and great grand-children…and a dog named Suzie.
• Proudly points out a bigger museum will open soon in the adjacent building
• Every Friday evening they are country and blue grass concerts in the hall next to the museum room.

And yes, the coffin displayed in the museum is the one he will be buried in…That’s going out in style!

Admission to the museum is FREE, however donations are always welcome. Button Museum is located at the outskirts of Bishopville off of Hwy 34 and several miles from Interstate 20. Driving Directions: From I-20 take exit 108, then Hwy 34 for about 4 miles. Turn left on Johnson’s Pond Road, go down 1 mile, fork to the right onto Joe Dority Road. The museum is the first house on the left.

Here is a custom Google Map with other one-of-kind family attractions such as “little Eden” Topiary Garden by Pearl Friar, most likely the greatest landscaping artist in South Carolina.

Live your dreams and follow your heart in beautiful South Carolina!

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