SCIWAY thanks Shirley Radabaugh of Aiken for this picture taken in December 2012.

Edisto Beach Park also has an environmental education center that highlights the island’s natural history and the surrounding ACE Basin. There are furnished cabins available at the park, as well as campsites near the ocean or in the maritime forest. For more information regarding accommodations, hours of operation, and admission please go here.

In the 1930s, a group of Summerville women who then called themselves the Civic League, raised money to purchase the land now used for Azalea Park. This group was the precursor to the Flowertown Garden Club, and the park was eventually deeded to the Town of Summerville.

Many plants were given to the park by resident George Segelken. Segelken even planted most of the azaleas himself and was an expert on the plant, and helped make Summerville well known for its beautiful Azalea bushes.

SCIWAY thanks Linda C. Shaw of Summerville for this information and picture taken in March 2012. Linda tells us that “whether you’re feeding the turtles, enjoying the shade of the tall LobLollies, or sharing the joy of a picnic with friends, you will be sure to enjoy yourself at Azalea Park!”

Beyond the different landscapes, though, is a chance to touch a little remembered piece of South Carolina history. The Caw Caw Interpretive Center offers educational programs ranging from pre-school to college level that feature important sites of the Stono Rebellion.

Pausing under the giant, Spanish moss draped live oaks, you almost sense the ghosts of slaves who joined the Stono Rebellion on September 9, 1739. Marching from farm to farm, nearly 100 rioting slaves killed 20-25 white people and burned homes before they were stopped by a militia. Within a few hours a third of the slaves had been shot, and within a week the rest were caught and executed.

As a result of the rebellion, new laws were passed that forbid slaves to grow their own food, learn to read, assemble in groups, and earn their own money. While reading the historic plaques at Caw Caw, you realize that this rebellion occurred more than 100 years before the Civil War and that the human consequences of slavery have a longer history than you realize.

SCIWAY thanks Diane Yale-Peabody of Ohio for providing this great information and picture taken in April 2012.

For more information about the Caw Caw Interpretive Center, including hours of operation and admission costs, please visit its website.

Hartsville is home to Coker College and is the the largest city in Darlington County. It is accessible from both I-20 and I-95.

Have you visited Centennial Park in Hartsville before? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

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.

The park is named for Charleston native and US Ambassador to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, (the Poinsett Bridge near Greenville is also named for Poinsett) and is situated in a unique region of South Carolina known as the High Hills of Santee. This land, where the sandhills of the Midlands meet the coastal plains, was originally used by several Native American tribes (Santee, Wateree, and Catawba) for hunting.

Features of the park include a 10-acre lake with boat access, campsites and cabins, a fishing pond, and the ruins of a grist mill dating back to the American Revolution. Many of the park’s hiking, biking, and equestrian trails also connect to the statewide Palmetto Trail.

Special thanks to Leonard Vaughn of Lexington, who took this photo in March 2012. Vaughn writes, “One of the most unique features of the park is the coquina-lined spillway (pictured above) built by the CCC in the 1930s. The park is a lovely place to spend the day or weekend. You can canoe on the lake, hike the many trails, and check out the unique flora and fauna of this diverse area.”

SCIWAY thanks Sharon McFalls of Spartanburg for this picture she took while camping in August 2011.

The park was developed in the mid 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal program. It was the first state park opened to the public in South Carolina.

In addition to the fishing pier pictured above, the park also includes campgrounds, hiking trails, and an interactive nature center. Learn more about features of the park here.