Chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, the Santee Canal was the first summit canal built in America. It was also an integral part of a growing South Carolina economy, as it connected the Santee and Cooper rivers and provided a safer, more direct route for goods to travel from the Upstate and the Midlands to the port of Charleston. Among the shareholders of the charter were several notable South Carolinians, including William Moultrie, Francis Marion, and Charles Pinckney.

The 22-mile canal operated until the 1850s, when increasing costs and competition from railroads forced the shareholders to surrender the charter. Most of the abandoned canal disappeared in the early 1940s with the creation of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, but sections of it can still be seen along the park’s trails. The canal was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Today, visitors can explore the history and natural beauty of the area as the park offers nearly four miles of boardwalks and trails as well as an interpretive learning center. Also located on the grounds of the park are the Berkley County Museum and the Stony Landing Plantation house, which was built in the early 1840s.

For more information, please visit the park’s website.

Many thanks to frequent contributor Ann Helms of Spartanburg, who took this picture in 2008.

Cypress Gardens showcases the unique natural environment of the South Carolina Lowcountry. 170 acres of gardens and swamps are so evocative of South Carolina’s timeless beauty that the property has been used as a set for over 15 movies, including The Patriot, Cold Mountain, The Notebook, and not surprisingly, Swamp Thing.

Every day except major holidays, visitors can walk along trails which wind through lush gardens or paddle flat-bottomed boats into the swamp for a close-up view of the cypress and tupelo trees, birds, turtles, and sometimes even alligators. To make a day of it, there’s also a Butterfly House, a Swamparium with live exhibits of fish, amphibians, and reptiles native to the swamp, and a gift shop. Learn more about Cypress Gardens on their website.

The first was a forest fire that destroyed the church in 1775, but it was rebuilt. Soon thereafter, British soldiers who used the church to store their ammunition during the American Revolution set it on fire when they left. It was promptly rebuilt, but after it was burned down again during the Civil War, it was abandoned and left in ruins.

The area was used as a local brickyard for years until its surrounding cemetery began to be used again. Even though portions of walls are all that stand now, they give evidence that the original design was fairly sophisticated. There is a Gibbs surround at what may have been the main entrance, quoins at the corners, voussoirs over the windows, and a rounded water table. All of these were expertly crafted out of brick, which is impressive for construction during this time period. The ruins are included in the National Historic Register.