County Historian

Brian is a native of Darlington County and resides in the Antioch Community of Hartsville. He is the son of Tim & Doris Gandy, Doris being the former Historian. Prior to joining the Commission, Brian spent the last 15 years as an Operations Manager for Wal-Mart. During this time, he has also been very active in the Historical circles around Darlington County. He has served as both Treasurer and President for the Darlington County Historical.

Brian has been with the Historical Commission for 5 years and maintains regular speaking engagements throughout the County, State and Southeast covering historical topics and genealogy. He is noted for his extensive collection of historical photographs of Darlington County.

Brian is currently serving on several Boards and Societies but is most honored to be the youngest Chancellor for the University South Caroliniana Society.

His undergraduate work was done at Francis Marion University with graduate studies at Gardner-Webb University.

In Brian’s free time, he enjoys kayaking and has through-paddled 5 complete river systems in SC, racking up over 2000 miles of paddling. In 2017 he enjoyed a trip to India, where he paddled on the Ganges River .

When asked if he is intimidated by serving in the shadow of Horace Rudisill Brian quickly reply’s – No. “We have different focuses. Horace was the collector, a hoarder with no organization except unto him self. My mother, Doris Gandy, was the organizer that shaped the collection into a workable and cohesive resource. I see myself as the promoter/preserver.”  He sees his role as building on their legacy and creating opportunities for patron interaction and the preservation of the collection.