Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations Â»

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places Â»
Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts
Caesars Palace Spiral Escalators
Pig Rock as seen from the road
Pig Rock
Cone and playground games.
Parque Los Conos
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è Pasta... E Pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States South Carolina Bishopville The Button Museum

The Button Museum

A hobby born from insomnia has turned into a hangar full of objects that have been be-buttoned by the Button King.

Bishopville, South Carolina

Added By
j. wilson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The Button King   Wikipedia
The Button King   jekinthebox
The button covered hearse.   jekinthebox
The Button King   jekinthebox
  johnbrodkin / Atlas Obscura User
  HelloKitty / Atlas Obscura User
  cicconerobot / Atlas Obscura User
  cicconerobot / Atlas Obscura User
  cicconerobot / Atlas Obscura User
  cicconerobot / Atlas Obscura User
Piano with signed pics from Letterman, Carson, etc.   johnbrodkin / Atlas Obscura User
  cicconerobot / Atlas Obscura User
  HelloKitty / Atlas Obscura User
  HelloKitty / Atlas Obscura User
B-ville Buttons ‘’Bus’’  
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located in a large hangar off the highway in South Carolina, Dalton Stevens' Button Museum is the product of decades of insomnia that led to an obsession with sewing and gluing buttons to anything he could get his hands on. 

Steven's inability to sleep reached a fever pitch in 1983 and he simply had to find something to do during his ceaseless waking hours. He began sewing buttons to one of his suits and before he knew it, two years had passed and he had covered the garment in over 16,000 colorful buttons. From there he began covering his shoes and guitar in buttons of all shapes and sizes. During this time he garnered some fame from his hobby and began making television appearances which, while doing nothing for his insomnia, emboldened the self-proclaimed "Button King" to move onto larger, more exotic items. 

After renting the building near his house that is now the Button Museum, Stevens moved his increasingly large and eccentric craft collection into the hangar and opened it to the public. Visitors can now see such strange sights as the hearse he completely covered, a now colorful outhouse, a few caskets, and a number of other strange items that have been covered in small plastic circles. 

The Button King continued to cover things in his sleepless obsession assuring that the Button Museum is constantly evolving. He also recorded music and visitors could purchase his CD's at the museum, although the subject matter is probably pretty obvious.  

Sadly, Stevens passed away November 21, 2016, in Bishopville, South Carolina.

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Museums Collections Outsider Art

Community Contributors

Added By

jekinthebox

Edited By

Ushanka, Molly McBride Jacobson, OminusOverlord, EricGrundhauser...

  • Ushanka
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • OminusOverlord
  • EricGrundhauser
  • cicconerobot
  • johnbrodkin
  • HelloKitty
  • elisabethtaylor

Published

February 18, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/meet-dalton-stevens-the-button-king.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_King
The Button Museum
55 Joe Dority Road
Bishopville, South Carolina, 29010
United States
34.24581, -80.333895
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

Bishopville, South Carolina

miles away

The Last Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken Restaurant

Hartsville, South Carolina

miles away

Woods Bay State Park

Olanta, South Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bishopville

Bishopville

South Carolina

Places 2

Nearby Places

Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden

Bishopville, South Carolina

miles away

The Last Yogi Bear Honey Fried Chicken Restaurant

Hartsville, South Carolina

miles away

Woods Bay State Park

Olanta, South Carolina

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bishopville

Bishopville

South Carolina

Places 2

Related Stories and Lists

The Ultimate List of Wonderfully Specific Museums

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • Ilana Goor Museum .

    Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel

    Ilana Goor Museum

    A modern-day cabinet of curiosities housed in a 300-year-old inn.

  • Cincinnati, Ohio

    American Sign Museum

    Where beautiful signs live on forever.

  • Mittens made from human hair.

    Frederikshavn, Denmark

    Hair Jewelry Exhibit at the Bangsbo Museum

    The largest collection of hair jewelry in Europe reminds you how creepy 19th-century love was.

  • Mural, depicting a raw man-slaughtering Nazi on a demon horse (Flickr / Nathan Hamm)

    Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    National Museum of Kyrgyzstan

    Time capsule of a museum, in which the Soviet Union remains alive and kicking.

  • Santa Fe, New Mexico

    Girard Wing

    A sprawling collection of over 106,000 toys from around the world.

  • (Gnurou/Flickr)

    Hakone, Japan

    Hakone Open-Air Museum

    Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.

  • Museum of the Weird, May 2018

    Austin, Texas

    Museum of the Weird

    Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style.

  • We now have a storefront location!

    Lucas, Kansas

    World's Largest Collection of Smallest Versions of Largest Things

    A unique attraction and museum dedicated to exploring iconic roadside structures.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.