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When the American Revolution began with the “shot heard ‘round the world” in 1775, this area was a frontier boundary between the expanding colonies and angry Cherokees. It was an area that would have been entirely ignored if it were not an important trading link along the Savannah River.
Find out how you can explore the history of the Revolutionary War in Thoroughbred Country in the great outdoors on hiking trails, scenic drives and exciting experiences.
Springs Ct, Blackville, SC 29817
A local legend shrouds a natural spring with intrigue in Blackville, South Carolina. After a skirmish in 1781, four mortally wounded Loyalists were left behind with two guards to bury them after their death. Instead, six weeks later, the six men arrived in Charleston in perfect health. They credited the water from a natural spring shown to them by Native Americans.
God’s Acre Healing Springs still touts the healing properties of the natural spring. Pipes allow the water to flow above ground and make it easy to fill a water bottle—or even an entire jug. The peaceful setting is the perfect place to enjoy nature for a while.
Don’t Miss: Miller’s Bread Basket features Amish-style cooking about ten minutes from the natural spring. Grab a plate of home-cooked food from the buffet servers and enjoy the meal in the comfortable dining room.
In the 1890s, Thomas Hitchcock and William Whitney purchased a large tract at the edge of downtown during the heyday of Aiken’s Winter Colony period. Of the original tract, 2,100 acres remain—the largest privately-owned urban forest in the country. Seventy miles of trails meander across the property, open for horseback riding and hiking.
Seven entrances to Hitchcock Woods are scattered around the perimeter—a few of them just minutes from downtown Aiken. Explore remnants of former homes on the property, gorgeous gardens and beautiful scenery.
Insider Tip: Cellular reception is difficult inside Hitchcock Woods, and the trails are infamous for confusing hikers and leaving them stranded. With the AllTrails app, you can download a map to your mobile device and use your current GPS location to always know where you are and where you parked.
135 Dupree Pl, Aiken, SC 29801 | 803-642-7650
Covered in the shade of towering oak trees and hidden behind a serpentine brick wall, Hopelands Gardens is Aiken’s best-hidden attraction. Once a privately owned 14-acre estate, the gardens were donated to the city in 1970 and opened to the public.
Go for a walk on the trails around the ponds teeming with wildlife, visit the fountains and reflecting pool near where the house once stood, and sit beneath the giant oaks in a cool summer shade.
Don’t Miss: The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum is a short walk from the Dupree Place parking lot. The museum features Aiken's history of horse racing and other disciplines and a giant trophy display case.
4542 Silver Bluff Rd, Jackson, SC | 803-471-0291
In the early 1740s, Irish immigrant George Galphin established a trading post on the bluffs of the Savannah River in the South Carolina backcountry. He fostered a strong relationship with the Creeks, and in 1775 he was appointed the Commissioner for Indian Affairs in the Southern District. At the onset of the Revolutionary War, Galphin—an ardent Patriot—built a palisade around his trading post, creating one of the first inland forts.
In early 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown marched the King’s Carolina Rangers from Savannah to recapture Augusta. Along the way, Brown arrested Galphin at his Silver Bluff Plantation. Galphin was placed under house arrest and died there a few months later after losing everything he spent his life building.
In May 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee marched toward Augusta to join forces with General Andrew Pickens and lay siege to the city. On the way, he sent a detachment under the command of Major Michael Rudolph to capture Fort Dreadnought—the British name for Galphin’s stockade fort. Rudolph tricked the British into leaving the fort's safety and captured them with only one casualty.
Today, 3,400 acres of the Silver Bluff Plantation are preserved as a part of Audubon's Silver Bluff Sanctuary. The Galphin site is an active archaeological dig, but it’s open to the public along a 3-mile hiking trail. Park at the visitor center and head out on a forest service road toward the Savannah River for a three-hour hike to visit the site.
