Jones Gap State Park is a
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
in northern
Greenville County
Greenville County is located in the state of South Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to the ...
, near
Marietta
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. The park, which includes the
headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
of the
Middle Saluda River
The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which f ...
, is, with
Caesars Head State Park
Caesars Head State Park is a park in northern Greenville County, South Carolina, that borders Transylvania County, North Carolina, and is reached via US 276. The eponymous rock formation, one of the highest points in Greenville County, is a grani ...
, administered by the state Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism as part of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness.
History
From 1840 to 1848, the self-taught mountain road builder Solomon Jones (1802–1899) cut a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...
from Caesars Head, South Carolina, to
Cedar Mountain, North Carolina
Cedar Mountain is an unincorporated community in Transylvania County, North Carolina, Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States. . Because Jones had no formal training, local legend claimed he had blazed the trail with a hatchet while following the lead of a sow. The unpaved Jones Gap Road (largely abandoned by 1910) was the only direct route between Greenville County and
Transylvania County, North Carolina
Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard.
Transylvania County comprises the Brevard Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included i ...
, until in the 1930s an alternate route was chosen for the Geer Highway (
U. S. Route 276).
In the early 1950s, Henry Ware, who had in his youth traveled through the Gap in a wagon, encouraged his cousin, businessman E. Ervin Dargan to buy 2,000 acres of Jones Gap land from the Saluda Land and Lumber Company. In 1976, fearing the destructive potential of real estate development and the increase of motorized vehicles traveling the old road, the men both sold and donated their land to the state for use as a park.
![RimoftheGap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/RimoftheGap.jpg)
During the same period, Greenville attorney
Thomas Wyche
Thomas may refer to:
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conceived the idea of a Mountain Bridge Wilderness; and in 1973, he organized the Naturaland Trust to secure and protect the nearly of privately owned mountain lands between the Table Rock and Poinsett watersheds, including Jones Gap. In 1978, the state began to acquire properties, much of it with money granted from the federal
Land and Water Conservation Fund
The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...
. The park officially opened in January 1989. Smaller tracts in Jones Gap continued to be purchased by Naturaland Trust and
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
into the 21st century.
Natural history
Jones Gap State Park is a forested wilderness that ranges in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet and is home to more than 60 varieties of mammals, 600 kinds of wildflowers, and 160 types of songbird. Some of its trees are more typical of those found in Pennsylvania or Maine. The Middle Saluda River, South Carolina's first state-designated scenic river, runs through the park as does the Eastern Continental Divide.
Recreation
![Middle Saluda River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Middle_Saluda_River.jpg)
There are more than 30 miles of hiking trails in the park, many of which include waterfalls. Backcountry trailside camping is allowed at designated sites. Other popular activities include fishing, bird watching, and
geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...
. The park Learning Center features a classroom, aquatic ecology lab, and a small gift shop. Jones Gap is also the site of the partially restored Cleveland Fish Hatchery, South Carolina's first fish hatchery, which operated between 1931 and 1962.
Greenville HD.com
References
External links
Official page
{{authority control
State parks of South Carolina
State parks of the Appalachians
Protected areas of Greenville County, South Carolina