Julian L. Mims III, PhD 611 Buncombe Street mims3299@cs.com Edgefield, South Carolina 29824 803 637 5195 (h) September 12, 2004 Descendants of Drury Mims: There is a compelling need for your advocacy concerning a situation in Edgefield. Local developer Bettis Rainsford has coerced the Town Council into condemning the Edgefield Advertiser Building. Incredibly, the right of eminent domain has been employed to wrest the building from its owners in order to build a theater. The Advertiser, created in 1836, is one of the oldest newspapers in South Carolina. Its building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and contains the press, typesetting and other equipment which dates back into the 1800s - - the essence of a newspaper museum that is unique to our state and nation. The Town of Edgefield has applied to the SC Department of Commerce for a grant that will gut the building and obliterate the newspaper museum, effectively destroying this historic property. I am sure that you will wish to contact the Department of Commerce to illuminate the destructive impact of their grant, if approved. The grant decision will be announced next month, and is under consideration now. There is no hearing on this matter at the Commerce Department. Your contact is: Mr. A. Daniel Young, Director Grants and Incentives SC Department of Commerce 1201 Main Street Suite 1600 Columbia, SC 29201-3200 The property has been taken from the family. Two lawsuits have been filed re this action of the Town. Sincerely, Julian Dr. Julian L. Mims III part owner, The Edgefield Advertiser

That is incredible. It's inconceivable to me that government at any level would use their power of eminent domain in this way. To virtually destroy a building listed on the register of National Historic Places for the purpose of building a theatre ranks high on my list of "Stupid Government Tricks" - - - my apologies to David Letterman. Do you have any e-mail addresses or telephone numbers other than those below that we might use to express our views, e.g., local newspapers, radio stations, town council, individual council members, state and federal offices, elected officials, etc. E-mail and phone calls probably are the most expeditious way to make our objections known. Although petitions offer an alternate route they would take longer to complete. For Info: The Web site from which SC's Dept. of Commerce can be contacted via e-mail is: http://www.sccommerce.com/callsc.cfm?page=&document=contact This site also includes the following phone numbers for the Dept. of Commerce: Phone: (803) 737-0400 Fax: (803) 737-0418 In searching the internet for SC's Dept. of Commerce, I noticed that in 2002, then Governor-Elect Sanford announced that businessman Robert Faith was to head that department. It was pointed out that Faith is the CEO of Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC, based in Charleston, SC. You mentioned that the council was coerced by a local developer. What form did this take? Also, is one of the national motion picture theatre chains involved or is the purpose of the proposed theatre to provide live entertainment? In any event, I hope that the Mims family will provide a response to this council's actions that cannot be ignored. Good Luck, Britt Britton Mims Ware, Jr. Columbus, GA ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Mimms" <jmimms@infionline.net> To: <MIMS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 10:44 AM Subject: [MIMS,MIMMS,MIMBS] Emims.doc Julian L. Mims III, PhD 611 Buncombe Street mims3299@cs.com Edgefield, South Carolina 29824 803 637 5195 (h) September 12, 2004 Descendants of Drury Mims: There is a compelling need for your advocacy concerning a situation in Edgefield. Local developer Bettis Rainsford has coerced the Town Council into condemning the Edgefield Advertiser Building. Incredibly, the right of eminent domain has been employed to wrest the building from its owners in order to build a theater. The Advertiser, created in 1836, is one of the oldest newspapers in South Carolina. Its building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and contains the press, typesetting and other equipment which dates back into the 1800s - - the essence of a newspaper museum that is unique to our state and nation. The Town of Edgefield has applied to the SC Department of Commerce for a grant that will gut the building and obliterate the newspaper museum, effectively destroying this historic property. I am sure that you will wish to contact the Department of Commerce to illuminate the destructive impact of their grant, if approved. The grant decision will be announced next month, and is under consideration now. There is no hearing on this matter at the Commerce Department. Your contact is: Mr. A. Daniel Young, Director Grants and Incentives SC Department of Commerce 1201 Main Street Suite 1600 Columbia, SC 29201-3200 The property has been taken from the family. Two lawsuits have been filed re this action of the Town. Sincerely, Julian Dr. Julian L. Mims III part owner, The Edgefield Advertiser ==== MIMS Mailing List ==== Ann Mims-Neff List Moderator