A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Sitting by itself outside of a brick family plot in the Rocks Cemetery on Church Island is a military headstone. This is a cenotaph. There is no body there, but only a marker to memorialize the body. Lieutenant Colonel George St. Leger Grenfell’s marker has a Confederate iron cross and a US flag. Usually there … Read More “A Mystery Mercenary at Lake Marion” »
This is a post that raises more questions than it answers. It was an interesting dive down a rabbit hole with lots of random connections, but those connections will probably of interest to only my family. I never knew my Papa Taylor. He died before I was born. However, I know quite a bit about … Read More “The Teaching Career of Mamie Leapard” »
Just off of Old Easley Bridge Road sits a lovely old house, somewhat out of character for the surrounding mid-century ranch homes. The home has been beautifully restored and now operates as the Tanglewood Inn. Behind the nicely appointed suites, the exquisite antiques, and comfortable common areas, though, lies a tale of tragedy. The history … Read More “Tangled Up in Odd Fellows” »
It’s one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it communities. There are signs for Jalapa on I-26, but unless you know where it is you’ll drive right through and never know you’ve been there. I’ve known about Jalapa for most of my life. My family has a long history both in Newberry and in Laurens, so we’ve passed through … Read More “Seeking Jalapa” »
I was doing some research for a podcast episode on the town of Lando in eastern Chester County, South Carolina when I stumbled on an interesting tidbit that sent me down a rabbit hole. The town of Edgemoor is just north of Lando, and Richburg is to its south. I wanted to find out more … Read More “The End of the World as We Know It, Richburg Edition” »
Next week is MLK Day, when Alan and I do our traditional exploration. This year Alan had a conflict, so we pushed the exploration forward a week. This year we decided to explore the old community of Lando and its iconic school building in Chester County. The school is one of the last remaining buildings … Read More “A Trip to Lando” »
A spiritu fomicationis,Domine, hibera nos.From the lightning and the tempest,O Lord, deliver us.From the scourge of the earthquake,O Lord, deliver us.From plague, famine, and war,O Lord, deliver us. From the place of ground zero,O Lord, deliver us.From the rain of the cobalt,O Lord, deliver us.From the rain of the strontium,O Lord, deliver us.From the fall … Read More “Gimme Shelter” »
One of the ghost towns I’ve wanted to explore is Kingsbury, in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Located on the Catawba River, Kingsbury started out as a ferry town. It appears on the 1825 Lancaster District Map in Robert Mills’s Atlas of South Carolina. In the late 1700s Andrew McIlwaine chartered a ferry across the Catawba … Read More “From Kingsbury to Stoneboro – Rambling in Lancaster County” »
I was browsing through the University of South Carolina’s collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. These maps are highly detailed maps of towns and cities from the early 20th Century and are excellent for historical research. According to Wikipedia… Sanborn maps are detailed maps of U.S. cities and towns in the 19th and 20th centuries. Originally … Read More “We’ll Always Have Paris” »
As usual, fellow explorer Alan Russell and I planned to a ramble on MLK Day, as we do each year. We brainstormed several options, and decided to head to upper Anderson County to the community of Slabtown. I had actually visited these sites back in 2021 with the intention of writing a blog post about … Read More “Slabtown, Equality, and the Thalian Web – MLK 2025” »