Charles W. Drace (Drais)

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Biographical Text

Title

Charles W. Drace (Drais)

Description

Prominent businessman; photographer responsible for many early photographs of Greer; owner of the Grand Theater

birthday

August 25, 1869

Birthplace

Ohio

Death Date

September 25, 1928

Occupation

photographer; business owner of movie theatres, retail, and newspaper

Biographical Text

Charles "Uncle Charlie" Drace, most known today for a substantial collection of early photographs, was a businessman instrumental in the earliest days of Greer.

Originally Charles Drais, he was born in Ohio, son of Felix McIlhenny Drais and Laura Virginia Will Drais. He lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from 1890 to about 1895, where he worked for Gettysburg battlefield photographer W. H. Tipton.

Traveling as an itinerant photographer, he stopped in Greer where he met Fannie Miller; they got married. He opened a photo studio in partnership with another photographer. We know he was in Greer by 1896, when he bought property from William A. Hill on Broad Street (now North Main, possibly the wood building labeled "photo. gal." in the 1898 Sanborn map). He might have had an earlier studio on Main Street, but he was at 110 East Poinsett in 1898. His first small wood building was soon replaced with a brick store, and within a few years Drace had moved to a large 2-story building at 103 Trade Street. The Planters Savings Bank was on the corner, with Drace's studio beside it; later, both of these would be removed and replaced with the current Bennett Building.

Drace was a photographer, but he also had a shop selling a variety of goods including cameras, Victrolas, musical instruments, sheet music, electric lights, Waterman fountain pens, and Greer-branded memorabilia like cups and saucers.

Drace then built the Grand Theatre at 121 East Poinsett, in a space that is now an alley. His photo studio was on the second floor, his store on first floor beside the ticket office, and the theater was in the back. He also operated the Dixie Theatre on Trade Street and operated a theatre at Camp Sevier for the military in the Great War; after, it continued to operate as the Grand Theatre in Paris, SC. Later, he opened a theatre in Greenville.

Drace was a member of Greer City Council in the 19-teens. He became manager of an early Greer newspaper, the Greer Observer. He was a painter, and donated oil paintings as awards for contests like the North Greenville Stock Show ("C. W. Drace of Greer offers hand painted picture of Titanic for best can of apples").

Charles and Fanny Miller Drace built a house at 210 West Arlington, which still stands. They had a daughter, Pearl, and three sons, Kramer, Lee and William. Lee died in a tragic swimming accident as a teenager. After their father's death in 1928, Kramer briefly took over the business before moving to North Carolina to assume management of a chain of theatres. William (Bill) took over operation of the Greer Theatre and operated it until 1957.

Bibliography

https://www.newspapers.com/image/38488941/?terms=charles%20w.%20drais&match=1&clipping_id=121043912