Red Umbrella Walking Tours

Red Umbrella Walking Tours We’re more than just walking tours!

We provide shuttle and walking tours that are are full of entertaining facts about Gaffney, SC and its people and you’ll see why everything about our tour stops and culture have a revolutionary spirit.

07/16/2025

As of Summer of ‘25, we’re more than walking tours! We now will come and get you and drive you on our tours. You’ll still be able to walk around once at our stops and get the feel of it before we drive to the next one!

The following two tours have walk or drive availability:
1. Legends and Legacies—tour our historic district and stately homes, and pre-Revolutionary War sites before our town was built.
2. Best of Gaffney—you’ll see our notable historic places, monuments & interesting sites and downtown.

Our driving tours are limited to 4 persons only at the present time. Call for availability. 864-649-0303

Only one of our tours is walk only:

3. Ghosts and Gallantry—a tour of our historic cemetery and learn about the fascinating funeral
fads of the Victorian Era, historic cemeteries in general and all the local flavor you can handle about local folks buried there. Don’t be surprised if we throw in some creepy stories too.

We can do tours as early as 8:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday
All tours at $30 per person
Tours are approximately 1 hr and a half.

We take Cash App, Zelle, PayPal and cash.

Call 864-649-0303 to schedule your tour.

We’re gearing back up for a new season of tours! Here’s our flat RevWar hero, Kate Barry, with her red umbrella, at the ...
04/11/2025

We’re gearing back up for a new season of tours! Here’s our flat RevWar hero, Kate Barry, with her red umbrella, at the grave of our President, Francis J. Underwood.

Schedule a tour with us this spring. We’ve got two tours and we’re finishing up a new downtown offering!

Here’s our flat Revolutionary War hero, Kate Barry, visiting the Cherokee County Museum. Kate has been busy visiting oth...
03/18/2025

Here’s our flat Revolutionary War hero, Kate Barry, visiting the Cherokee County Museum. Kate has been busy visiting other points of interest in Gaffney and in the county in the run up to the opening of Carolina Rising, Gaffney’s newest museum.

The Origin of President's DayAs with most of our traditions we can thank the British--sort of. Our earliest ancestors ha...
02/17/2025

The Origin of President's Day

As with most of our traditions we can thank the British--sort of.
Our earliest ancestors had gotten used to celebrating the birthday of the monarch. By the winter of 1778, soldiers at Valley Forge threw celebrations in honor of their leader, George Washington's, birthday. These celebrations continued for the duration of the Revolutionary War and after he was inaugurated as the first President. As time progressed and Lincoln's birthday was celebrated, in 1968 legislation was passed to celebrate the 3rd Monday of February as President's Day. Ironically, the federal holiday can mathematically never fall of Washington's actual birthday.
Enjoy your holiday!

The draped urn represents the clothing of the deceased being shed to move from the Earthly realm to the Heavenly realm.L...
11/20/2024

The draped urn represents the clothing of the deceased being shed to move from the Earthly realm to the Heavenly realm.
Like most funerary symbols, even nuances make a difference to their meaning. For instance, if the drape on the urn is fringed, the drapery represents a shroud symbolizing sorrow, the motif that represents a veil that separates the Earth and Heaven, life and death.

Mayors of GaffneySince the time of our incorporation, Gaffney has had 34 mayors.Longest serving was Henry L. Jolly, who ...
11/19/2024

Mayors of Gaffney
Since the time of our incorporation, Gaffney has had 34 mayors.
Longest serving was Henry L. Jolly, who served for 20 years (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Two (2) sets of fathers and sons have served as mayor:
John Q. Little (1902, 1906, 1910, 1916) and John Q. Little (1982, 1984, 1986)
Vernon L. Sanders (1976, 1978, 1980) and Vernon L. Sanders II (1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998)
Our present mayor is the Honorable Lyman Dawkins III.

The Urn is a fairly ubiquitous symbol in historic graveyards and cemeteries around the US. It is borrowed from Greek cul...
11/16/2024

The Urn is a fairly ubiquitous symbol in historic graveyards and cemeteries around the US. It is borrowed from Greek culture, where it is symbol of mourning. It came to be seen as not only the symbol for the soul, but also immortality, or penitence. In modern times, it became a symbol as container for cremated ashes.

Types of tombstones found in historic cemeteries--The grave curbThe grave curb was used in the Victorian Era, but can st...
11/15/2024

Types of tombstones found in historic cemeteries--The grave curb

The grave curb was used in the Victorian Era, but can still be seen today. Typically, it's paired with a traditional headstone. Curbs are usually a low border of stone or concrete that surrounds a grave or plot. It begins underground and rises a few inches above the surface. The center, typically hollowed out, is filled with gravel, dirt or grass.

Rotary International opened a club in Gaffney, SC in November of 1919, it's 571st chapter. And at this club is where Red...
11/12/2024

Rotary International opened a club in Gaffney, SC in November of 1919, it's 571st chapter. And at this club is where Red Umbrella Walking Tours was today, talking about the histories and stories of the people of Gaffney. We played a round of "You Think You Know Gaffney" and it was great to tell some of our intriguing stories which need to be told.

One of the last colorful maples in the historic district for this year.
11/09/2024

One of the last colorful maples in the historic district for this year.

Blame it on the Napoleon and the French for why we have municipal cemeteries.In June of 1804, Napoleon ended burials thr...
11/07/2024

Blame it on the Napoleon and the French for why we have municipal cemeteries.
In June of 1804, Napoleon ended burials throughout France in places of worship and their surrounding yards. This decree improved the health of city dwellers, but altered 1500 years of religious ordered tradition.In December of 1804, a park-like cemetery was created just outside of Paris called Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise.

Address

Gaffney, SC

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Red Umbrella Walking Tours posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category