Quirky Americana in Bishopville’s Button Museum

Bishopville, South Carolina is known for Pearl Fryar’s extraordinary topiary garden, but it is also home to The Button Museum, a hidden gem housed in a hangar. If you’re in the area, make sure to check out the work of Dalton Stevens “The Button King” who collected millions of colorful buttons and displayed them on cars, clothing, and furnishings. His creations have the joyful spirit of a mosaic artist crossed with a manic bedazzler!

a woman looks at a mannequin wearing a suit and hat covered in buttons in the Button Museum — This suit was Stevens’ first piece and he wore it on *The Johnny Carson Show*. It took him two years to complete.

Location, Hours, and Cost

53 Joe Dority Road in Bishopville, South Carolina
Hours: Open daily from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The museum door was open when my boyfriend and I drove up but it doesn’t hurt to call ahead and make an appointment: (803) 236-8477
Cost: free!

a split image of a hearse covered in colorful buttons in the Button Museum — The hearse was a project in Stevens’ later years. There are over 600,000 buttons bumper to bumper

The button patterns are so intricate and pleasing- they remind me of a quilt

a man crouches by an art installation of an outhouse covered in colorful buttons — The top of the toilet seat is covered in buttons and the bowl is filled with more buttons.

The Button King

Dalton Stevens’ button art was born from years of insomnia. In 1983, he began sewing buttons onto a denim suit to pass the sleepless nights. Soon, his project expanded and he covered shoes, hats, guitars, and cars with buttons. His collection of over one million buttons, from all over the world, earned him a Guinness World Record. Though the pieces are patterned with great skill and detail, Stevens was actually color-blind! Stevens went on to make several television appearances including Johnny Carson and Geraldo.

a coffin covered in colorful buttons with 'Button King' written in buttons on the side

Over 150,000 buttons cover the King’s Chevy Chevette

The Button Museum was established in 2009. Recordings of the Button King’s music are available for purchase. Sadly, Stevens passed away November 21, 2016. He left the museum to his son JD who runs the museum today so visitors may continue to see these celebrate these wonderful works.

a piano decorated with patterns made from colorful buttons

Enjoy this sweet clip of Dalton Stevens singing in the museum in 2010:

What’s Nearby?

Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden – 145 Broad Acres Road Bishopville, South Carolina 29010 – Fryar is a self-taught artist who has transformed his yard into an award-winning garden of topiary forms unlike anything else on earth.
The Cotton Museum, 121 W. Cedar Lane, Bishopville, SC 29010 – This museum covers the history and science of cotton. It also features a 3-foot tall model of a boll weevil and plaster casts of the Lizard Man’s footprints.

a bathtub fully covered and filled with colorful buttons

Dalton Stevens sewed and glued buttons to every surface you see in the Button Museum – suit jacket to toilet seat. He patiently crafted a colorful life and each piece is sure to make you smile. RIP King.