SCIWAY thanks Stephen Brenton of Ladson for this picture taken in November 2012.

The historic Van Wyck community is located in the panhandle of Lancaster County between the York County line and the North Carolina state line. Originally, an indian settlement, Europeans began to settle here in the mid 1700s.

Several pronunciations of ‘Wyck’ are accepted including Wick, Wike, and Wack but many locals with family roots in the area say they make a rhyme with ‘like’ – as in “There is a lot to like about Van Wyck.”

Special thanks to Stephen Farnsworth of Greenville for sharing this photo taken in June 2010. Indigo Blue is Stephen and Maxi Farnsworth’s blog that documents their travels throughout our state.

You can learn more about Van Wyck Presbyterian Church by visiting their website here.

Maxi Farnsworth of Taylors took this picture in December 2009. She says that “this striking statue of President Jackson was completed in 1967 by renowned sculptress Anna Hyatt Huntington. He is depicted as a 16 or 17 year old on a farm horse. This piece, entitled The Boy of the Waxhaws, was dedicated just after her 91st birthday. She granted a request from a local sixth grade class to create a statue of their local hero.”

“When David Platt from the Lancaster County School District saw the banners on Main Street in Rock Hill, he was so inspired he brought the project back to his home town. After obtaining a grant, and with the help of the Lancaster County Council of the Arts, the project was under way.

The banners, made of canvas, were designed and painted by local school children and community members. Every school in the county was involved. Students from middle and high schools made their marks on huge cubes which were erected on the lawn in front of the Springs House –   home to the Lancaster County Council of the Arts, the Springs Foundation and See Lancaster.

Renowned artist and local resident Bob Doster designed the cubes, and the City of Lancaster assisted with the installation. These colorful cubes and banners will be on display in historic downtown Lancaster until the end of April 2009.”

The Springs House is part of National Register Properties in South Carolina.

Learn about other SC artists.

Update: The Banner Project is still going strong in Lancaster and in its third year as of 2011. Christina Chastain is the resident artist. Each of the 18 schools in the county choose their top 25 art students. These students visit Chastain’s Studio Lofts to paint the banners.

This special project is a partnership of the Lancaster County School District, the Lancaster County Council of the Arts, Chastain’s Studio Lofts and the City of Lancaster.

The folks at See Lancaster, a non-profit group which promotes travel and tourism in and around the “Red Rose City” sent us the picture below and told us that “hearts sank on the morning of August 4, 2008 when residents of Lancaster witnessed their beloved historic county courthouse burning. Fire destroyed the roof and most of the interior. Worse news was to follow when they learned a teenage suspect had been arrested for arson. The courthouse, built in 1828, retained many original features and was still in use as a hall of justice when it was set ablaze.”

On March 23, 2009, just a few months after the devastating fire, roof frames were returned. The roof’s restoration uses timbers similar to the original design and each truss is signed by local firefighters, emergency workers, and government officials.

Learn more about the history of this building by visiting its listing in the National Historic Register.