Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • Local
  • North to Tigerville

North to Tigerville

Posted on January 2, 2008 By Tom 3 Comments on North to Tigerville
Local, Photography

Perhaps last night’s comments about local photography should be a New Year’s resolution. I’m not much at making resolutions, since I’m so miserable at keeping them. However, here are two. First, I’m going to try to take a picture of SOMETHING every day. The disclaimer is the word “try.” Also, the word “something” is key. There are several Flickr groups dedicated to things like “365 days of me“, where people post a self-portrait a day. I’m just not that narcissistic. Secondly, while I may not stop complaining about over-development in Greenville County, at least I will start looking for those hidden, interesting places. I know they’ve got to be out there.

In keeping with these two resolutions, on this cold morning I headed toward Greenville’s “Dark Corner,” which is vaguely somewhere northeast of Traveler’s Rest. Inspired by Flickr photographer patleeo, my first stop was the Little Texas Grocery on State Park Road (map). At first I wasn’t sure if it was a store that was actually open or not. A large truck was idling out front, and there were a couple of cars parked next to the place. However, it could just as easily been someone’s private property. I put my misgivings aside and went in. There were four people huddled around an ancient wooden stove. The store itself was sparsely supplied, with one cold drink unit, cigarettes, and a few snacks. Everything was haphazardly arranged on old wooden shelves. It was truly a step back in time.

As I entered, the oldest of the four rose to wait on me. I knew from patleeo’s photos that this was Ruth Cheatwood, age 84, who has operated this store since 1958. I hadn’t brought my camera into the store. I would have felt awkward with all these folks, and Pat had already done such a nice job documenting the store and photographing Ruth. I took in the ambiance, bought a sweet roll, and headed on my way.

Little Texas Grocery

From Little Texas, I drove up Tubb’s Mountain Road, then on old White Horse back to Highway 25. A light overnight dusting of snow made even single-wide trailers look scenic. I really didn’t want to stay on a big highway, so I turned onto the first road that looked small and interesting – Bailey Mill Road. I figure that any road with the word “mill” in its name has to be interesting. This time I was not disappointed.

I came across an old structure that must be the eponymous mill (map). There was no roof, and most of the building had collapsed. There was the remnants of a water wheel next to the little stream that ran through the property. There were Posted signs everywhere, so I took a few shots from the road right-of-way, then continued on my journey.

Bailey Mill 2

I wandered along several roads that run between highways 11 and 414. Some of these ran along the ridges just north of Travelers Rest. There were a couple more “mill” roads, but none that had any structures I could see. I could make out clearings along streams where I would expect to find a mill, but there was nothing to shoot.

My wanderings took me to Tigerville, and to two more of the places that Pat had photographed. There was the Tigerville Variety Store, and the TP Country Store. Both of these are closed, but I did get a couple of shots of the outside.
Tigerville Variety B&WTP Wood Store B&W

From mills to stores, and now bridges. I thought I might get some shots of Poinsett Bridge, since I was this close (map). I snapped a few shots, but it was so cold that my hands couldn’t operate the camera. I decided to give up on it and retreat to a warm car.

Poinsett Bridge HDR

My second bridge was Campbell Covered Bridge. When I arrived I was dismayed to see huge orange traffic barriers that really ruined most photographic angles. I wish they could find some way more subtle to keep traffic off the bridge. I wandered around the site for a bit, then decided it was time to head home.

Campbell Covered BridgeOld Campbell Mill Steps

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: Catching the Overlooked
Next Post: Geosetter ❯

3 thoughts on “North to Tigerville”

  1. Wanda says:
    January 3, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Did you notice if “The Thai & I” restuarant is still open in Tigerville? It was the only place I’ve ever been where you could get a hot dog and fried rice.

    Reply
  2. Tom says:
    January 4, 2008 at 5:36 am

    Thai & I was still there, but I didn’t pay attention to whether or not it was still open.

    Reply
  3. David says:
    January 22, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    The Thai and I is definitely still open! I’m a student at North Greenville, and go there every once in a while.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (200)
  • Entertainment (202)
  • Family (121)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (99)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (266)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (451)
  • Miscellaneous (550)
  • Music (196)
  • Paddling (248)
  • Photography (779)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (227)
  • Rants (161)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (411)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (60)

Recent Posts

  • In Search of the Road Builder
  • The Phoenix Riots and Dr. Benjamin Mays – An MLK Day Ramble
  • An Obsession with Steak Knives
  • An Epiphany on Patriotism
  • Kayaking Bates Old River and Running Creek

Recent Comments

  • Walter Kokoszka on Mysterious Mayucha and The Wolf Pit
  • Elizabeth on The Temple of Health: Ground-Truthing in Antreville
  • The Bay Area Basketball Fan’s Guide to March Madness on FU All the Time!
  • Why You Should Root For This March Madness Underdog on FU All the Time!
  • Gregory Davis on Ghost Towns of the Pee Dee – Part 2, Centenary

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear Georgia geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
March 2023
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jan    

Copyright © 2023 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown