A Georgia High Point (but not the highest)

.
November 27, 2010.  It was a cold morning -- about 32 degrees F -- so I did not think it was a good idea to go up onto the Blue Ridge Escarpment, in case there might be ice or slippery leaves on the twisty roads.  I elected instead to go west to revisit a couple of places I enjoyed near Toccoa Georgia.

I have already installed my Hippo Hands for the winter, and my heated grips are at the ready to keep my tender little hands warm inside them.  I dress warmly, as is the usual case, and I am ready to go.


Toccoa is about fifty-five miles from home, and I take one of the quicker roads, US-123, to get there.  I detour a bit on SC-93 into downtown Clemson South Carolina, since I have not been there in a long time.  I find that the tailgaters have already started setting up at 9:00 AM, despite the fact that the football game is at 7:00 PM.  Devoted, those Tigers fans.  As I leave town, I note that there is a Norfolk Southern freight train heading in the same general direction as I am. Maybe I'll see it again along the way.

Oh. One good place to go to eat while in Clemson is Sardi's Den Restaurant.  They make some mouth-watering ribs there.  I had some that last time through.  They're located at 520 Old Greenville Hwy, Clemson, SC 29631, 864-654-7427. 


I continue south (actually more west than south) on US-123, through sweeping curves, and finally reach the town of Toccoa.  I cruise through town, spotting the railroad station I visited the last time, and run toward the Trestle Falls housing development.  From there I can view the North Broad [railroad] Trestle, also known as the Wells Viaduct.  As an engineer, I am intrigued by the structure, built in 1919, which spans 1500 feet and is 202 feet above the North Broad River.

It can be seen from the location at the end of the court that starts at Pushpin "B" on this map.

View Larger Map

I go a little beyond the place where I can view the trestle because I want to find the waterfall that is also here somewhere.  (That's why they call this Trestle Falls.)  I go to the very end of the road, but only find a pair of aggressively barking dogs there.  I don't stick around since one of the dogs -- a pit bull looking thing -- is nipping at my leg.   ATGATT helps many situations. I hurry out of there, so I never spot the falls. 

I go back to the place where I can see the trestle, set up my camera, and wait for a train.  The one that I have been pacing since home finally arrives, heralded by its horn before I can see it or hear the rumble of the locomotives.  I didn't think I had been riding that much faster than it has been traveling: Maybe the train stopped somewhere on the way here.

The track is upgrade to the west, so the locomotives are laboring a bit here.  I get a few shots, and after the train passes, I hear dirt bikes snarling somewhere in the hills on the far side of the trestle.  I heard them the last time I was here and had walked down to the base of the trestle, so there must be some good places to ride. In fact, the last time, I had hoped that they would give me a ride back to street level from the base of the trestle.  (They didn't show, so I had to hoof it up.) 

I later looked at a Google satellite view, and found several trails over there the dirt bikers might have been using.  

Here is a panorama of the trestle, made using PixMaker Pro.   

It is not such a good time of year to take a photo, as the trees are not very colorful.  I'll have to come back again in the spring or fall.

Here is an aerial photo taken by Joe Pusey and posted on the Railpictures.net website. It shows an Amtrak passenger train pulled by a GE P42DC locomotive on February 26, 2006, viewed from a Cessna 152 about 1500 above grade level.

That's quite a view. My vantage point today is from about the eight o'clock direction. 

I pack up my camera, remount, and then head to my other destination today, one that I have not visited previously, but wrote about last time. 

That place is Currahee Mountain.  Technically a part of the Georgia Piedmont or "foothill" province, Currahee Mountain rises abruptly about 800 vertical feet (240 m) above the local topography and is the highest peak in Stephens County. Part of the mountain is in the Chattahoochee National Forest. On clear days, the peak's 1,735-foot (529 m) summit is visible for many miles and is a prominent landmark to the southeast of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountain crest.

My view approaching the mountain.

The name Currahee (quu-wa-hi), given by the Cherokee Indians, is translated "Stands alone." During the Indian Wars the famous Indian fighter, Andrew Jackson, engaged the Indians at Fort Hill near Currahee Mountain in the "Battle of Currahee".

During World War II, the mountain again became a part of a war. The U.S. Army selected Currahee as the site for its first Parachute Infantry Training Center to be named Camp Toccoa.

You may recall that the mountain was still again made famous more recently by Tom Hanks' and Steven Spielberg's television miniseries Band of Brothers, in which it was featured as a training site of the Paratroopers at Camp Toccoa.  They ran up and down Currahee as part of their training. The name of the mountain became the motto for these paratroopers, including the famous quote, "Three miles up, three miles down".

The last time I visited Toccoa, back in March 2010, I rode right past the road to the top of the mountain, but this time I find it and check it out.  It is at Pushpin "D" on the map above.  I park at the bottom, and walk a few hundred feet up the packed dirt road (puff, puff) to see if it might be passable on my Kawasaki Ninja 650R with street tires.

I decide that it is [you've heard that before, right?], so I walk back down (much easier, so less puffing) to the bike, and start to ride up. 

The road is known as FS65, or the Colonel Robert Sink Memorial Trail.  It is marked by this sign at the bottom:

Colonel Sink was the first Commanding Officer of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of Camp Toccoa, the “Five-O-Sinks”.  He was born April 3, 1905 and died December 13, 1965.

Just above the beginning of the road, I spot the only remnant of Camp Toccoa; a block building that was the mess hall.  It sits behind a fence on a corner of the Milliken and Company textile plant property, so it is not accessible. 

I continue onward and mostly upward.  There are a few roads branching off but I stay on the main road. Even though it rained a couple of days ago, the road is nicely packed dirt and gravel in most places.  There is occasionally some loose stone and many washboard sections.  At 0.5 mile there's an open gate. At 1.4 miles there's a sign saying, "closed 10 P.M. to 7 A.M.". At 2.8 miles, there's a good place to park near some large rocks with graffiti covering them.

It's possible to ride slightly further, to very near the summit.  There are several communication towers and buildings at the top, all with chain link fences around them, making the area somewhat unsightly.  Pushpin "C" is at the summit. 

The best view is from near the graffitid rocks, so I go back down there and stop again.  As I do, I note two men and two boys -- maybe a grandfather, his son, and grandsons -- standing and peering outward.  As I approach, the smaller boy -- about ten -- turns, his eyes become wide, and he nudges the other boy to look at what is coming.  I find a reasonably level place to park, turn off the engine, and dismount.  I don't bother taking off my helmet or gloves, since I am only going to take a few pictures.  I dig my camera out of the tank bag, then say hello to the group, and walk over to absorb the scenery.  As I do, I explain to the kids the importance of all the protective gear when riding a motorcycle.

After a few minutes, the group of gents piles into their car and go off toward the summit, the boys watching continuously out the rear window.  I notice this and give them a thumbs up.  They return it eagerly with wide smiles.  I hope I made their day -- as they did mine.

Here are a few pics from the graffiti rocks.

A view to the right.  

A view to the left.  That is a rock quarry on the far left.  The trestle is further to the left, though it is not visible from here. 

And a panorama.

That is my bike on the far right hiding behind some tree branches.  

After taking in the view from this point on the mountain, I start back down.  I feel a bit more sure of myself in the few places where there is loose gravel, so I travel at a higher speed on the way down.  The washboard sections nearly vibrate my fillings loose, so I stand on the pegs like a dirt biker to reduce the potential dental bill.  For the engineers amongst us, here is a website that shows how washboarding begins. 

The road at the base of the mountain, Dick's Hill Parkway, is smooth and a little curvy from the base of the mountain to the intersection of US-123 and GA-17.  It is fun to ride it.  In fact the Parkway toward the northwest from the base of the mountain is nice too, and it intersects again with US-125 a little further on, so you can easily get back to Toccoa that way if you wish. 

As I pass through Toccoa again, I spot a mural on the side of a building.  You know that I like public murals, as I have written about the ones in Piedmont, and in Donalds and Iva, South Carolina.  


This one is painted on the side of the Royal Crown Cola Bottling Company. They also bottle Nehi, the drink of Radar O'Reilly on M.A.S.H. 

(That is a pile of cast iron pipe in front of the mural.)

After I returned home, I made a few calls so I could report to you, loyal readers, about this mural.  I connected with the artist, one Pat Wise, and spoke with her on the phone.  She was happy to relate the story to me. 

She said it is a whimsical piece showing several local attractions and historical sites including Toccoa Falls (with some artistic license applied), Travelers Rest east of Toccoa along the old Unicoi Turnpike, Lake Hartwell complete with sailboats and a biplane in flight over it, some whimsical houses and a church, and a golfer who some say looks a little like Ms. Wise's mustachioed husband.  I wrote about some of these places in my blog entry, Two Trips to Toccoa. 

Here is a closeup of the golfer's form.

Quite....er, unique.  (I am not a golfer, however, so who am I to say.) 

As an aside, her hubby broke his leg (ouch) just after she started painting this mural, causing a delay in work while she helped him convalesce.  Ms. Wise also spoke warmly about inscribing the name of her then newly born granddaughter on one of the sailboats on the lake. 

The final brush strokes were applied on July 4, 2003.  Another notable and nearby mural done by Ms. Wise is located in the Toccoa Airport terminal.  I'll have to visit there some time in future. By the way, I don't think she had anything to do with the "artwork" on the rocks at Currahee Mountain that I saw earlier today. 

Since 1999, Ms. Wise has run her very own Laurel Hollow Decorative Art Studio, not far from Travelers Rest, where she conducts classes.  (She says she has good intentions of updating her website soon.) 

I explore Toccoa a bit more, discover the forbidden motorcycle test course, then head back on US-123 to Westminster, take SC-183 to Walhalla, and eventually reach SC-11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway, then take US-178 home. 

I have come to like the section of US-178 between SC-11 and Pickens, as a mildly curvy, well-paved stretch, with curves not nearly as tight as on the same road north of SC-11.  The sportier bikers like the latter better, and so might I one day, but for now, I'll go south. 

My route of 167 miles today:

View Larger Map

It has warmed up to 57 degrees by the time I reach home, and it has been an enjoyable day out seeing some old and new sights on an easy route. 


Nose Bleed Info:

Definitions:

• Elevation of a peak is the height of the peak's summit above sea level.
• Prominence of a peak is the height of the peak’s summit above the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit. If the peak's prominence is P feet, to get from the summit to any higher terrain one must descend at least P feet.

Nearby Peaks of Interest:

• Currahee Mountain is the 23rd highest peak in Georgia, at 1735 above sea level with a prominence of about 800 feet.  Here is a video of a car trip from bottom to top. 
• The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald at 4783 feet above sea level with a prominence of 2107 feet. 
• The highest point in South Carolina is Sassafras Mountain at 3564 feet above sea level with a prominence of 754 feet.
• The highest point in North Carolina (and the highest point in the eastern United States) is Mount Mitchell at 6684 feet above sea level with a prominence of 6089 feet.

You can ride to the top of all of these mountains.

.

.

More Murals, Rain...and Direction Needed.

.
Back on July 11, 2010, I took a little trip to some destinations south of home.  I usually don't do that except in the winter and early spring when the roads in the mountains to the north may be covered in slick leaves, ice, or sand and gravel.  The roads to the south are flatter and straighter. 

This time, I chose to go that way because it was supposed to rain, and because I wanted to nab the tag posted on the local motorcycle forum, CarolinaRiders.  The picture showed a mural with a railroad theme painted on the side of a building, along with the cryptic clue, "Donald Duck could have painted this, but I doubt it."

I studied the photo and decided it was not one of the murals I have previously seen and written about, so I had to do some research.  (See, there is a cerebral side to motorcycling!)  

I started out looking on the Internet for a town named Ducktown in South Carolina, North Carolina, or Georgia, since our forum tag game rules say the tags must be within 125 miles of The Store where a lot of riders meet.  That didn't yield any likely results, so I looked a bit further, hoping for a town called Donald, or something close to it. 

There is one in Georgia, but it is further than the mileage limit, and North Carolina doesn't have one.  South Carolina does have one, and I found that there is a building with a mural on it.  ...And it is the right mural, I believe.  Bingo!  Now, to get there and snap a picture with my bike in it, then post it on the forum before anyone else does. 

I prepared a Google Map, but since I like to do some light touring when I go anywhere, I wanted to find a few other points of interest.  I settled on an easy jaunt to Elberton Georgia, in an area known for its granite industry, and then over to Donalds to get the tag.

Here is the map of the route I took:

View Larger Map

Although it shows only about 178 miles, I got lost several times. More about that later.


On to the ride.

Because it is supposed to rain in the afternoon, I pack my rain suit and start out about 7:00 in the morning.  That way, I should be back before the rain starts.

Well, that isn't working out.  About a half hour after I leave home, it starts to rain.  Just enough to make me consider stopping and pulling on my rain gear.  I look for a place to do so, but by the time I find one, the rain has tapered off.  In a few more miles, it quits, but the sky remains overcast.  I continue on my way, going through Clemson, and down near Lake Hartwell, and the hydroelectric power dam there.  The roads are easy, in generally good condition, and I make good time.  I stop for a potty break at the boat launch south of Hartwell Dam. I stopped here the last time I came through almost a year ago, on my way to Lawrenceville Georgia for the Lee Parks Total Control Class. 

After my stop, I cruise through the countryside. some more, and spot this is along the road, at and Pushpin "B" on the map.

"King of Kings, Lord of Lords.  Jesus is Lord.  I AM the way, the truth, and the life.  No man cometh to the Father except by me." 


That is an important thing to know.  It is found in three places in the Bible: 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, and Revelation 19:16.  It is a powerful statement of Jesus Christ's supreme authority over all other kings and lords of the earth.


I mount up again, and soon reach Elberton, at Pushpin "D," and find the Granite Museum.

 
Unfortunately, it is closed until 2:00 PM.  Rats.  I should have looked at their website more closely.  I don't want to hang around until two, since I want to avoid the afternoon rain that is coming.


There are some neat granite things to see even from the outside.  This is a solid granite spire, 51 feet tall.  It weighs 41,810 pounds.

 

Look at these granite books.  They almost look like real ones.  That's what I'd call heavy reading. 

 
Here is the railroad depot.  I had to stop there, you know. 

And a little history of Samuel Elbert, a Revolutionary War leader and governor of Georgia. 

Shortly out of town, it begins to rain again.  [What's new?]  And, again, it is just hard enough and long enough to make me look for a place to stop and dress for it.    And again, the rain stops about the time I find a spot.  It was supposed to rain this afternoon!  Right? 

[Oh well, be glad you are able to get out today, Bucky, despite the sputtering weather.] 


Aside:
When I was riding back from Lawrenceville, GA on that cold, rainy night in October of 2009, I naturally had my rainsuit on. My ancient one-piece suit is not lined, and the rubbery waterproof coating inside makes it hard to get it on and off.  I stopped at an Interstate rest area to use the toilet, but could not get the rainsuit off over my shoulders. I had to wait until someone came along to ask them to help, then had to ask someone else to help put the suit back on. Imagine this picture: a stranger riding a motorcycle, dancing around at a nearly deserted rest stop in the middle of a cold, rainy night, fervently asking others to quickly help him undress, and then dress again. Well, it was either that or an uncomfortable alternative involving nasty bodily fluid. ...And I didn't want to ruin the leathers, you know.


I mentioned earlier that I got lost a few times during this trip.  Actually, I got lost a lot.  About five times.  Now you may recall that I am an engineer by training, so when I put together the Google Map, I make sure to mark it up with red pen so I don't miss any turns or route numbers.  I pinpoint each intersection with a red dot, and make the route numbers large so I can easily see them atop my tank bag. 

Despite this, I keep getting off the desired route today.  I am, of course, certain that it is not I who is missing the turns.  Rather, I am sure [tongue in cheek here] that the road signs are missing, so it can't be my fault.

Anyway, I thought I was smart in borrowing our son's GPS and having it help me along today -- a sort of a belt and suspenders concept: I can't go wrong, right?  Wrong.  The only thing it helped with was to get me pointed back to the right route when I got lost.

[Why didn't you use it to avoid getting lost, Bucky?]

I'm glad you asked.  It seems that I don't have a bracket to hold it at the correct angle on the handlebars of my bike, so I slip it into the map pocket on my tank bag.  Unfortunately, the glare off the top of the bag prevents me from seeing the display, and it doesn't have a way to connect an earpiece, so I can't hear it either. 

Thus, I am relegated to stopping, studying the thing, then going on a little further, and doing the same.  I eventually get where I want to go, but it certainly isn't very efficient. 


Back to the ride.

I meander through the Georgia, then South Carolina, countryside.  As soon as I cross the state line, the pavement becomes poorer.  Not terrible, but not nearly as smooth and well maintained. Our tax dollars are not working as hard in South Carolina, apparently.

I go though the town of Iva and see a building with a mural containing a train.  Naturally, I stop to take its portrait. 

 
The mural was painted in 1991 by Oscar Velasquez, and depicts Iva’s Atlantic Seaboard railroad station.  The mural is 60 feet by 20 feet and covers the entire side wall of Brown's Variety Store. The piece is based on an 1890 postcard of the town’s depot. Mr. Velasquez has painted several other outdoor murals, at least some of which depict railroad themes.

 
I wonder why a lot of these murals do not show the proper drawing perspective.  For example, the circular front of the locomotive is not properly oriented.   The engineer in me is offended by things like that. 

A little more history of Iva. 

I go a few blocks through town and spot a building with an awning sporting the word Reviva, on East Broad Street.  It is a small-town museum with a catchy name incorporating the town's moniker.  I can't pass that up either, so I dismount and go in, walking past a moped that looks a little like a miniature Honda Virago 250.  There is a guy inside -- the moped rider -- who greets me and asks what I am riding.  I tell him, and he begins to regale me with a rundown of his extensive motorcycle riding experience.  He seems to enjoy having someone listen to him speak about it, though I am a bit skeptical that his story is not embellished a bit.  A woman approaches and also greets me, with the invitation to look around.  The building is a former bank, and it contains many photos and artifacts of area events and places.  The moped rider continues his monolog for the entire time I am viewing the museum.  I have to say that I was polite to him, but a little distracted, so I failed to take any pictures inside. 

Oh well, maybe next time through. 

Next up is Abbeville, only because I missed a turn (again). It is a nice little town with an attractive square.  I wrote about it back in April of 2009.

I then manage to find my way to Due West, which is in the general direction of Donalds.  The town was named for an old trading post on the Cherokee Path, six miles west of the current town.  Due West is the home of Erskine College, the first four-year church-related college in South Carolina, founded by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in 1839.  


I motor onward and enter the metropolis of Donalds, at Pushpin "E" on the map. I soon spot the mural on my right at the intersection of SC-184 with US-178. I find a place across the street to park, in about the same place as the original tag photo.  I snap the shot, and start out toward home.

 
The mural is painted on the side of Little A's Variety Store.  This is the only link I could find describing the mural. The description from that website:
"This mural caught my eye. I like the way the smoke stack from the building was used [as the locomotive stack]! The Southern and the Piedmont and Northern both served Donalds, and both of the stations still exist. Also the short line (4 miles long), Due West Railroad connected to the Southern at Donalds. The mural is located on the side of a building where SC 184 leaves highway 178. This looks to be along the route that the Due West took from Donalds to Due West to take the students to Erskine College. The depot in Due West still stands today. The locomotive on the mural does not look like a Southern one, or one of the two that was used by the Due West Railroad. My research on the Due West locos shows that there were two of them, an 0-6-0 built by Glover, and an 0-4-4T, ex New York Elevated Railway, builder unknown. The P&N was an electric railway.
Tom Daspit, Morgan Hill, CA, Tom's Trains"

I make note of the weather that is supposed to be closing in this afternoon.  In fact, it appears to be clearing up! 

So much for the weather guessers today. 

After Donalds, I go through Honea Path, and Belton.  Belton has a large water standpipe that has a crenellated top.  It is an interesting sight, visible from several miles around.  Completed in early 1909, it is 155 feet tall, and made of reinforced concrete.

 
Water flows through a ten-inch diameter pipe in the center of the bottom portion, and the water reservoir is within the upper section, above 100 feet from the ground. Therefore, the structure is actually a water tower rather than a standpipe.  The latter would be full of water throughout its entire height. 

There is an exterior ladder on the north side extending to the top.  There are no stairs or ladders inside. The Christmas star at the top had not been serviced in years because no one wanted to scale that exterior ladder.  A crane was available when they did a restoration study of the standpipe in 1987, so they fixed the star too. 


Interestingly, there is another Belton Standpipe.  It was built in 1914 and is in Belton Texas. It is a true standpipe, and is not as architecturally interesting as the one in South Carolina.

The trip home is uneventful, and I am now a bit too hot, since the clouds have left and the sun has come out in full force.

When I reach home, I run with my camera to the computer to post my tag.  My hands tremble as I reach the tag thread.  Has anyone beaten me? 

No!

I succeed in posting my picture, and I am the winner, for now, until someone gets a new tag I post.  I search through my archive of trip photos and find a new tag that I think will be difficult for others to find.  It is at the end of a dead end road, where not too many riders go.  I post it and we'll see in a couple of weeks if I have stumped them. 

Today I rode 213 miles, stumbling my way around western South Carolina and eastern Georgia.


If you go:

There are other points of interest nearby.  

• South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in the Belton train depot, 50 North Main Street.
• Ruth Drake Museum of agricultural, railroad, industrial, and cultural history, also located in the depot.  Open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM.  Free.  

.

Piedmont South Carolina -- Mill Town

.
December 12, 2009, a little over eight weeks ago.

It was a bit cold -- around 31 degrees, but I wanted to go out for a ride. Despite the below-freezing temperature overnight, there had been no rain so there shouldn't be any ice on the roads. Anyway, it might be some time again before I have a chance to go out, being winter and all. Although we generally have mild winters without much snow or ice, there is still the chance. I remember my bike gazing forlornly out of the garage door the last time we had snow.

I start out and go a little way south of where I live; exploring some roads I had not been on before. I stay out of the mountains -- the southern Blue Ridge Escarpment -- because it is likely that there is ice as well as sand and salt on the roads up there. No need to take a chance.

I meander south to the little mill town of Piedmont South Carolina. Piedmont means “Foot of the Mountains,” although it is sited about fifty miles from the nearest ones up north of Pickens.

As I have written before, the Blue Ridge Escarpment is a steep rise from fairly flat land. (To see more entries about this in my blog, use that search box in the upper left hand corner of your screen to search for the word "escarpment.")

The town of Piedmont, at least right here, doesn't look very prosperous. They are having a Christmas parade today, so there are a few people out on the streets and some fire trucks outside the fire station, waiting to be called into formation. I am sure that Santa Claus is lurking around here somewhere, but I don't see him. Maybe he thinks I have been bad this year and so won't be seeing him at all.

This little town straddles the line between Greenville County on the east and Anderson County on the west. The town once revolved around two cotton mills owned by the same company. The Saluda River was dammed here to provide hydro power to the plants. These mills produced cotton cloth and yarn.

Here is a picture of the dam. Actually about half of it, as there is more to the left of the photograph.


The locations of the mill buildings are a bit unusual as well, being on opposite sides of the Saluda River near the dam. Note the walkway across the dam that continues from the left end away from the camera and toward the parking lot on the opposite side of the river. This was for employees so they could walk from one plant to the other without detouring all the way out to the road bridge.

Here is a bit of history about Piedmont Manufacturing Company, the owner of the mills. This, from the Greenville Textile Heritage Society:

"By the year 1873, a charter had been obtained and work was begun on mill No. 1, but because of the great panic of that year, operations were suspended for a while. They were taken up again in 1874 and the building was finished in 1875. In March 1876, the machinery was started and the first cloth was made (it was good cloth too).

"The mill was not then fully equipped, but in 1878 the machinery was all put in. At that time there were 11,000 spindles and 240 looms. The company capital was $334,000. Mill no. 2 was completed in 1882, the two mills then had 24,020 spindles and 568 looms, of the spindles, 6,000 were on yarns.

"In 1888, mill no. 3 on the Anderson side of the river was built, and still later mill no. 4 was erected on the Greenville side...."

And this more detailed chronological account from The Journal, the Weekly Newspaper of Williamston, Pelzer, West Pelzer, Piedmont and Surrounding Communities in Anderson and Greenville Counties:

"1875 & 1876: The first mill building was constructed on the Greenville County side of the Saluda River.
March 15, 1876: Water turned on for first time. First bale of cotton opened by Mr. W. J. McElreath and his son. First spinning machinery started up. First bale of cotton used in mill bought from Silas F. Trowbridge of Grove Station. He bought the first bale of cloth, a 36” sheeting which was sold in his store.
July 1, 1876: Mill considered in full operation.
1880: Mill Building No. 2 built in Greenville County.
1946: Piedmont Manufacturing Co. sold to J.P. Stevens and Co., Inc.
1964: J.P. Stevens started rug plant in old Piedmont No. 1, renamed as Maples Plant No. 2.
1966: Maple Plant No. 2 closed. Old mill used to store cloth for Estes and Piedmont.
Oct. 26, 1983: Mill Buildings in Greenville County burn. Mr. Hammett’s original building burned in 1983 and the Anderson County plant was completely torn down by 1995.

"Over the years Piedmont had the reputation of turning out quality products, being the first to export cloth to China [compare that with the direction of most trade today] in the late 1880s through the 1930s.

"The Piedmont Plants operated continuously until 1964, when Stevens built the modern Estes Plant about two miles away from the Saluda Shoals. Delta Woodside Industries bought the plants from Stevens in 1983."

A long, interesting history, but now largely just a memory here at this site.

There is a mural painted on the side of the remaining mill building.



And a closer look.


Here is a description of the mural contents from the Trainorders website, written by Tom Daspit of Morgan Hill, CA, who must have been traveling in South Carolina back around April of 2007.

"This mural [is] on the wall of an old textile mill. The mural is a good representation of the Piedmont & Northern depot that still stands about one half mile east of where the mural is in town. CSX still uses the tracks here to deliver coal to Duke Power's Lee Steam Plant in Williamston [SC] and interchange cars with the Greenville and Western at Pelzer [SC]. No steam locomotives ever were used on this line except maybe during its construction. This was an electric line. The artist must have been European, notice the bumpers [on the front of the locomotive]."

This is not the only mural depicting a railroad in these parts. There is one up in Saluda North Carolina on the side of the Salamander gift shop. Here is a picture of that mural.


...and another one in Clayton Georgia on the side of the North Georgia Security building.


After I look over the grounds of the still-standing mill, I mount up again and motor up the hill to the little downtown section. There is a community building, a restaurant, and a few other shops.

I wander around the town, looking at the small mill houses that were built by the mill owner and rented to the mill workers. The boss of the mill often lived in a larger house amongst the others in the mill village, and he ruled that just as he did the mill itself. He had the power to evict people who did not follow the rules.

I continue to follow streets and roads until I see a railroad. I find a crossing and follow a road that roughly parallels the tracks. I find another place to cross the tracks and take it, then another on my way back to town.

There is a railroad overpass at Rehoboth Road. I cross over it and head north for a little bit to Beam Road where there is another overpass. By the way, the word Rehoboth is Biblical.

Here is a photo on the railroad overpass on Beam Road.


Note that my little red-haired friend is still a faithful passenger, having ridden pillion for more than 1100 miles so far. It is a good thing I rescued him down near Duluth Georgia.

Here is the location of the Beam Road overpass.


View Larger Map

As I circle back to town, I see a lonely two-story house that stands empty. There is not a square inch of paint on its siding that I can see. It sits alone and seemingly useless on a rise across from the Anderson county-side mill site. Was this a superintendent's house? The mill president's house? So far, I have not been able to find anyone who knows. It makes for an interesting series of pictures, however.




The first pictures of the old house were taken from about here. The one below was taken from the parking lot of the Anderson county mill site.

View Larger Map



This is a view from the Greenville County side of the river where the remaining mill building stands. The nearer chimney once served the mill on this side of the river, the further served the mill on the opposite shore. Just to the left of the nearer chimney, you can see the old house.


After I shoot some pictures of the house, I head east on SC-86 to pushpin "H" on the map of my local Piedmont meanderings here. The Piedmont depot of the Piedmont and Northern Railway is located here. This is the same depot depicted in the mural on the mill building downtown, but it has seen much better days, and appears to be mostly empty now.


The track-side of the building is overgrown with brush.


According to this history, the Piedmont and Northern Railway was

"...a heavy electric interurban company operating over two disconnected divisions in North and South Carolina. The trackage ran 128 miles (206 km) all told, with the northern division running 24 miles (39 km) from Charlotte to Gastonia, North Carolina, with a three-mile spur to Belmont. The southern division was the larger of the two, with the main line running 89 miles (143 km) from Greenwood to Spartanburg, South Carolina, with a 31 mi (50 km) spur to Anderson. The line was electrified at 1500 volts DC, but much of the electrification was abandoned when dieselisation was completed in 1954. Passenger service ended in 1951. The system was absorbed into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1969."

Go back and note again that the mural depicts a steam locomotive, but no such locomotive ever ran on the tracks of the Piedmont and Northern. Artistic license, perhaps?

As I depart from the depot, I spot a wooden overpass above East Main Street. Now Main Street, way out here in the sticks, apparently doesn't get much traffic, as it is only one lane wide. It makes an interesting place to take a snapshot of the Ninja.


The underside of the deck.




I finish out my ride by taking SC-86 east to US-25 and SC-291 to the north side of Greenville. I have to stop at the Cycle Gear store as long as I am in the area, right? (It is only about seventeen miles from the Piedmont depot. That's in the area, don't you think?) I look around, but keep my pocketbook tightly closed, though the staff at this store is always helpful without being pushy.

I motor to the southwest, past Bob Jones University, and through downtown Greenville's picturesque, tree-lined Main Street. I stop for a few minutes at Falls Park.

This is at the falls on the Reedy River in downtown Greenville. You can see the curved footbridge that spans the river above the falls.


A man is throwing sticks to his dog down at the river. And here is the windup...


There he goes. I'll bet that water is cold today.


He happily brings it back to his master and begs for more.


Here is a much better picture of the Reedy River falls taken during the summer.

[View of Falls Park from skyscrapercity.com]

I linger for a time in this pleasant place, then head on, taking US-123 back to Easley. By the time I get home it has warmed up to a balmy 38 degrees. I have been reasonably warm bundled up for the cold as I described back in November. I do need to fit those Hippo Hands, to see how they protect my hands from the cold, since cold hands are most likely to limit my cold weather riding. They will probably make a big difference. I think I will start on that tonight.

I check my odometer and find that I have clocked about seventy-two miles today on this route.


Since this trip, the weather has been cold, rainy, occasionally snowy, and icy. I am glad I got to go out when I did. ...but I am really ready to get back out there, very soon.
.