The adventures continue ... here's a look at some of my Summer
2003 adventures. With only three summer classes, I decided
it was time to hit the road and spend some time Upstate where
the weather is milder.
Tom Mangum Bridge and Fishing Creek Reservoir
Dam (SC 97 & SC 200 at Great Falls, SC)
Early
settlers in the Carolinas once noted the Great Falls at this point
of the Catawba River in the Upstate. Now, most people don't
even notice the memorial marker to former State Rep. Tom Mangum,
who died 15 years ago, but still has not had his year of passing
added to the memorial markers at his bridge.
The
seat left vacant by his passing was filled by Jim Hodges, who
went on to one tumultuous term as Governor before being ousted
by the voters in 2002.
Both
Mangum and Hodges chaired powerful committees in the State House,
both were pleasant people to be around, and both had their political
careers ended involuntarily.
Lockhart,
South Carolina
This
is one of the many small towns in the Upstate that rose and fell
with the textile industry, where SC 9 and 49 cross the Broad River
at the Chester and Union County line.
The
center photo shows where the mill once stood before being demolished
in the late 90's. The canal is used to divert the main volume
of the Broad River to a hydroelectric power plant. The water
in the canal stands between 20 and 30 feet above most of the town.
SC
63 crossing of the
Little Salkehatchie River,
Colleton County, S.C.
My
company is starting work on replacing these outdated and deteriorating
bridges over the Little Salkehatchie River. If one looks
close up, you can see how beautiful this Lowcountry "black
water" river and flood plain is.
I
know I said this was going to be an Upstate collection ... well,
stuff happens ...
Battle
of Fishing Creek,
Chester County, South Carolina
Not
too far north of what is now the Fishing Creek Dam, patriot troops
under the "Gamecock" Thomas Sumter were surprised and
routed by British dragoons under Col. Banastre Tarleton.
You can find these markers along US 21, just north of the SC 97
and 200 intersection.
Old
Howard Johnson's billboard,
US 21 in Chester County
There
is no telling how old this billboard is along US 21, between Fort
Lawn and Great Falls. No doubt it dates back to at least
before the 1983 opening of I-77 between Rock Hill and Columbia,
back when the now-lonely two-lane US highway was the only link
between Charlotte and Columbia.
Winnsboro
Clock Tower
I
ran by this clock tower in downtown Winnsboro and thought it looked
neat.
