SCIWAY thanks frequent contributor Stephen Brenton of Ladson for this great shot.

The school was originally located on farmland in the Midway Community just outside Gaffney. It was constructed by brothers Jimmy and Tom Pettit (with the help from other Cherokee County residents) and went through 11th grade. The name “Possum Trot” most likely comes from the fact that students reached the school by following an already existing possum trail through the nearby woods.

With the construction of newer, larger schools, Possum Trot School was abandoned and eventually fell into disrepair. In 1969, Louise Phifer Camp hired local builder Ernest Wyatt to restore the schoolhouse as a gift for her husband Bill Camp, a Gaffney native who attended the school with his siblings. Although the school had greatly deteriorated over the years, its foundation was still intact, which made it possible for Wyatt to restore the building to its original measurements. For more information on the restoration process, see this newspaper article from July 1970.

Due to a property transfer in 1992, the school had to be moved to its current location next to Hamrick’s department store on Peachoid Road. It now sits just a half-mile from the famous Gaffney Peachoid.

Special thanks to the Cherokee Historical and Preservation Society for sharing the history of the schoolhouse.

The Cherokee County Alliance of Visual Artists (CAVA) is also located inside the building.

For more information about the Gaffney Visitors Center, be sure to see its main website.

Many thanks to frequent SCIWAY contributor, Rodger Painter of Gaffney, for submitting this picture.

The city of Gaffney, in Upstate South Carolina, was founded by Michael Gaffney, an Irish immigrant who established an inn and tavern at “Gaffney’s Cross Roads” in 1804.

Rodger Painter was present at the 226th Anniversary Celebration of the battle, which took place January 13-14, 2007 at the Cowpens National Battlefield. He shares with us some delightful pictures of the reenactment, all taken on the 13th of January in 2007.

The Hopewell Treaty was signed in 1785 between the Cherokee Indians and the United States government which laid out boundaries for white settlers who were interested in living in the area. Soon after the treaty was signed, Pumpkintown was formed by European settlers, and people have continued to live in the Table Rock area ever since.

The state park spans over 3000 acres which have been either donated or purchased from Pickens County and private citizens so that all South Carolinians can enjoy its beauty. Table Rock State Park boasts two lakes, campgrounds, meeting facilities and an historic lodge (pictured below), most which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. These structures are listed in the National Historic Register.

The park is one of our state’s first nature education programs, and is a trail head for the 80-mile long Foothills Trail through the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The most popular trail in the park is of course the one which leads to the top of Table Rock Mountain itself.

Check out the Table Rock webcam.

]]> http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/pickens-county/table-rock.html/feed/ 0 http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/cherokee-county/limestone-college.html http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/cherokee-county/limestone-college.html#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:54:34 +0000 SCIWAY http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/uncategorized/limestone-college.html Limestone College in Gaffney was established in 1845, and was the first women’s college in South Carolina. Dr. Thomas Curtis and his son William from England founded the school in order to provide an education to those who normally wouldn’t receive one. During the late 1960s the school began accepting male students.

Josh Crotzer of Gaffney submitted the picture above. Josh, who is Limestone’s Director of Communications, found this picture in the college’s files.

This building above is the Winnie Davis Hall of History. The structure was completed in 1904, and is named after the daughter of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Its original purpose was to promote the study of Southern history and literature.

Josh writes: “This building is often called the crown jewel of the Limestone College campus. The violet glow of the sunset provides deceiving visual warmth to the 105-year old building, a stark and ironic contrast to the cold and empty darkness that has resided inside for over 30 years. Closed to students and the public since 1976, Winnie Davis Hall is currently under renovation. Upon completion, it will be home to a history and arts museum and state-of-art classrooms, all while retaining its unique and historic architecture.”

The picture above is of the Lighting of the Luminaries. It has become a Christmas holiday tradition practiced at Limestone College each year since 1984. When this picture was taken on December 4, 2010, a drizzle of rain didn’t dampen the spirits of students and citizen volunteers who lit some 10,000 candles placed in sand inside white paper bags. The luminaries, which have become a popular drive-by event, shined brightly around the college campus, along College Drive and on several other Gaffney streets all the way to the doorways of Gaffney City Hall.

Many thanks to Rodger Painter for providing the luminary picture and great information.

He writes: “The three brightest objects in the night sky attracted much attention Monday evening (12/1/08) as they converged to produce what was hailed by astronomers as the sky show of the year. The crescent Moon and the two brightest planets Venus and Jupiter are shown here in a triple conjunction above the Gaffney city hall, outshining a Christmas tree which can be seen in a window. The clock you see on the building is actually the original town clock which was in our first city hall. Following tradition, this is the third building to use the same clock.”

Built to highlight the region’s prime crop, the Peachoid’s colors are meant to reflect the varieties of peaches grown in the area. After the basic colors were applied to the tower’s various parts, artist Peter Freudenberg used 50 gallons of paint and more than 20 colors to achieve the desired effect.

Learn more about South Carolina’s state fruit – the peach!

Many, many thanks to Rodger Painter of Gaffney who submitted this picture.