The Polk County Public Library (PCPL) will host Dean Campbell, “The Squire of Dark Corner,” on Thursday, March 22 at 6 p.m.
The program will feature a discussion, video clips from his documentary about the Dark Corner, a question-and-answer session and a book-signing. It will take place in the PCPL Columbus Community Room.

Campbell, author, columnist, lecturer, photographer, storyteller and tour guide, will give participants insights into this famous, yet infamous, mountainous region in northern Greenville County, S.C. He was named the Squire of Dark Corner in 1977 by the late Jim McAllister, columnist for The Greenville News, for his one-man promotional efforts to tell the entire story of this region, not simply the moonshine, mystery and mayhem known in the outside world.
Campbell was the first person to delineate the Dark Corner, in both words and photographs, by physical boundaries, by living philosophies, by moonshining and superstition, by spirituality and by scenic beauty. He said sharing his knowledge of, and love for, the Dark Corner with individuals and groups is among his greatest delights.
Campbell has made more than 160 informal talks, accompanied by photographs, to large and small groups, including service organizations, social clubs, art and craft guilds, Sunday School classes, senior citizen groups, local neighborhood associations, assisted living facilities, retirement communities and Airstream campgrounds.
Campbell was associate producer and lead storyteller for “The Dark Corner—A Documentary DVD,” produced in August 2008 by Dark Corner Films. The major historical work premiered at the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville and shattered all records for exhibit interest since the museum’s opening in 2007. It spawned a brand-new “Eyes to the Hills ­– Travelers Rest to the Dark Corner” exhibit, filling the 2,000 sq. ft. of space in the Changing Exhibit Hall. The mountain history exhibit ran from April 3 to Sept. 20, 2009.
Campbell has hosted numerous private screenings since the documentary’s Upcountry History Museum introduction. He will show some clips of this DVD at the PCPL program.
Please join us for a peek into the area’s past. Light refreshments will be served.
For additional information about the program, contact Tracey Daniels at tdaniels@polklibrary.org.
– article submitted
by Tracey Daniels