History

Long before the Campbell Geology Museum was constructed in the South Carolina Botanical Garden, a small collection of rocks and minerals was stored in the geology department in Brackett Hall.  Mrs. Betty Newton was the caretaker of that collection, and her dream was to have a gem and mineral display that was easily accessible to the general public.  To help make her dream come true, Mrs. Newton took advantage of every opportunity to tell people about the University's geology collection and solicited donations of additional specimens.

In 1990, a large collection of faceted gemstones and cabochons was donated by Clemson alumn Dr. Paul Benson, III.  The collection was  created by Dr. Benson's father, Paul Benson, Jr., a graduate of the University of South Carolina.  This was the first large donation that the museum received.

In the same year, Mr. Robert Schabilion, a gem and lapidary wholesaler from Mississippi, donated an impressive variety of large mineral and fossil specimens, as well as hundreds of pounds of rough material to be given away to children.  For many years after he continued to donate outstanding specimens to the growing collection.

Mr. Kermit Watson, a gem and mineral appraiser, donated his collection of mineral specimens, which included an assortment of agates and geodes.  Mr. Watson also donated his appraisal expertise in evaluating other collections offered to the museum.  

Mr. Robert S. "Bob" Campbell owned a variety of rock quarries in South Carolina, and was kind enough to pass his extensive collection of gemstones, minerals, and fossils to Clemson.  In 1996, Mr. Campbell and his wife, Betsy, made a commitment to help fund the construction of a new building that would house the geology museum.

Sadly, in early 1998 Mrs. Newton passed away, but the museum she envisioned continued to take shape.  Later in the spring, Ms. Carolyn Rebbert was hired as the museum's director, and she helped oversee the final construction phase.  In September of that year the museum was formally dedicated, and it opened to the public in October.

David Cicimurri became the Curator of Collections in May 1999, and he began the long process of cataloging and organizing the museum's collections.  With a background in paleontology, Dave began expanding the museum's fossil collection.

In the fall of 2000, Christian Cicimurri joined the museum as the Curator of Education.  Over the years Christian has  provided tours for thousands of people, and she is also responsible for creating a number of popular educational programs. 

Although the museum saw the departure of Ms. Rebbert in the fall of 2001, Christian and Dave successfully completed a major exhibit that focuses on Smilodon - Clemson's oldest "Tiger."   With the help of numerous students and volunteers, the museum continued to grow.

Mrs. Darlene Evans joined the museum's staff in December 2005 as Museum Manager.  With sales experience in the granite business, Darlene has vastly improved gift shop, and she came on board just in time to help with a major overhaul of the museum's interior.  In February 2006 the display gallery, gift shop, and fluorescent mineral room were repainted, new lighting fixtures were added and, half of the display cases were also moved to different locations in order to make your visit more enjoyable.