This picture of a raging waterfall was taken in the Narrows area of Eastatoe Creek in March 2007 by Deborah Davis, who lives in Oconee County.

Deborah loves to hike and shared with us this great photo as well as a fascinating story about her time on the trail: “This past Sunday, my hiking partner Linny and I did the Eastatoe Heritage Preserve and went to the Narrows. It was an exhausting climb but well worth it. Totally spectacular but not for the faint of heart. Anytime you hike in the Gorges, expect a weather change. I have done this trail before and had a thunderstorm come out of nowhere. The lightning was popping all over and the rain was so bad we couldn’t even see the next tree. It is normally darker in there because you are on the valley floor, but we had almost no visibility and had to stand perfectly still in fear of a lightning strike. Our boots had water pouring out of the tops. It left as quickly as it came and we made a fast exit.”

The mill currently opens each weekend to grind grain into grits, corn meal and flour. On many weekends, visitors can also learn about traditional arts and folk life from over 20 demonstrators of such crafts as milling, blacksmithing, quilting and the like. These mini-festivals also draw many musicians, from traditional string bands to blues to gospel. Such renowned pickers as Nick Hallman – pictured below – regularly entertain folks with their traditional bluegrass sound.

Photographer Denise Campbell writes: “A Saturday spent with church friends led us to the Historic Hagood Mill. The mill was running and many people were there enjoying the day. Being at the mill took us back into a time period we knew nothing of but thoroughly enjoyed and respected.”

Hagood Mill is located at 640 Hagood Mill Road, which is three miles north of the town of Pickens on SC 178.

Steven writes: “This little road side park is a big surprise. It is part of the SC Forest Service. Hike the short distance down Little Eastatoe Creek and play on the rocks, slide down the water into a cool pool or fish your heart out. I only saw a few wildflowers on the trail but the view on the river was great! What a wonderful place to come explore and play in the water.”

Find out more information about Long Shoals Wayside Park

Be sure to visit Steven Faucette Photography.

After the Revolutionary War, the sparsely populated northwestern corner of the state became a judicial district that included today’s Greenville, Anderson, Pickens, and Oconee counties. Over time, as the population increased in different parts of the district, boundary lines shifted to provide new communities better access to local government.

What we know today as Greenville County was separated out from the larger tract in the late 1700s. In 1828 the district was again divided with the lower portion becoming Anderson District and the upper portion becoming Pickens District. It was at this time that the town of Pickens Courthouse was founded expressly to be the seat of local government for the Pickens District.

The new town was eight blocks long and four blocks wide with the courthouse in the center. The Presbyterian Church was built in the 1840′s by the townspeople themselves. They made its bricks from local clay which they were able to obtain from the riverbank just across the road.

When the South Carolina Constitutional Convention met in 1868, they changed the official term for districts to counties and they divided the Pickens District into two counties – Pickens County to the west of the Keowee and Seneca Rivers and a newly created Oconee County to the east of the rivers. The new, more centrally located town of Pickens was named as the county seat and the “old” town of Pickens Courthouse was abandoned in a matter of a few years. In the 1960s, the Presbytery ended its affiliation with the Old Pickens Courthouse Presbyterian Church.

Deborah Davis of Oconee County took this picture in October of 2007 when she visited the remarkably intact church building and its adjoining cemetery. She tells us: “The earliest grave there dates to 1790. Many other graves had to be relocated here when the lake (Keowee) was formed. The floors inside the building are the original heart pine floors.”

To learn more about the Old Pickens County Courthouse area, please visit their website.