Photos and words by Sean Rayford

Wearing white tail deer pelts and Liberty brand overalls, with a coon bag, tobacco pouch, shine jug, and a .45 caliber Kentucky rifle — Justin Arnold won best dressed adult male at Hillbilly Day on Saturday. “It’s fully functional,” he says about the firearm, “I’ve harvested rabbits and squirrels with it — and a couple deer. It’s a good gun.”

Arnold, from nearby Six Mile, has been attending Hillbilly Day in Mountain Rest, SC for 20 years now — since he was 13 or 14. This year, he defeated his father in the best dressed contest. “We’d come out here and chase the pig and climb the pole. It’s become a family tradition every year and we don’t miss it. I have my wife and my son here — and my mom and dad.”

Nestled in the northwestern corner of the state in Oconee County, the Mountain Rest community brought Hillbilly Day back in 2021 after the pandemic ended a 60+ consecutive year streak.

Related content:

Trucks Gone Wild - Twitty City, SC

Sean Rayford is a photojournalist based in Columbia, South Carolina. See more at seanrayford.com