EDGEFIELD — The librarians at Strom Thurmond High School were not allowed to buy new books this year because of statebudget cuts.

Thanks to its namesake, though, the school will be getting a bunch of books anyway.

In his will, the late U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond donated all of his books to the high school here — a gift principal Chris Clancy calls monumental. Thurmond died in June. His will was filed in the Aiken County courthouse on Monday.

“For someone of his importance in the history of our state, to have his (books) housed here so students could continue that tradition of this school and people, that would be great,” Clancy said.

Thurmond left an estate worth an estimated $200,000 largely to his family, former staffers and a select institutions in bequests ranging from $250 to $50,000.

The will is the first of several expected filings that should reflect his final net worth after more than 65 years in public service.

The gift to the high school was one of only four Thurmond left to charitable causes. He bequeathed his correspondence and papers to the Strom Thurmond Institute at Clemson University, and he left $250 each to the First Baptist churches in Edgefield and Aiken.

Very little information about the books was known Tuesday. Clancy only learned about the gift when told by a reporter. Media specialist Jean Peeler learned about it from Tuesday’s article in The State.

The personal representative of Thurmond’s estate, Columbia attorney Jim Jones, and members of Thurmond’s family could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Thurmond’s longtime aide, Duke Short, said Tuesday that there were three bookcases in the senator’s Washington office. Short was not sure how many books were there or what kinds of books Thurmond owned.

“They ran the gamut,” Short said. “Some he had for years, and people would just send him books all the time.”

Before Thurmond retired in January at age 100, he allowed those who worked for him to choose a book from the collection to keep.

Short said he choose David McCullough’s “Truman.” The book references one of Thurmond’s favorite stories, Short said.

The story goes that during President Harry Truman’s 1949 inaugural parade, Thurmond, then governor of South Carolina, rode by the reviewing stand. Vice President Alben Barkley started to wave to Thurmond, but Truman grabbed his hand and said, “Don’t you wave to that SOB.”

“Thurmond mentioned that story often,” Short said.

When the books make it to Strom Thurmond High, they’ll complement the Thurmond portrait that hangs in the school foyer over an old desk once used by the senator.

With no real information on how big the collection is, what it includes or when it’ll arrive, Clancy and Peeler are hamstrung on how to plan.

The school library already has 13,000 titles. A big open room with bookcases lining the walls, space in the library would be hard to find for a big collection.

But the school might display the collection elsewhere in the school, Clancy said, perhaps along with the portrait and desk. The family’s wishes also will play a role in the decision, he said.

If it were appropriate, Clancy said, the school also would consider loaning the collection to museums or perhaps the county library.

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.