Trek Mop-Up and More

In Tigerville Trek, Tom Taylor and I hit many of my most wanted targets on the list that day, but not all. I took those most wanted targets, added a few more I found in various sources, and took a brief cruise around Taylors and Greer yesterday to visit them all.

First stop today was Foothills Vocational Center, located off of Saint Mark Road in Taylors. From 1954-1970, this was Lincoln High School, a segregated high school for African-Americans. The school was closed because of integration in 1970, and in 1972 the site became Foothills Vocational Center. The name would later change to Foothills Career Center, then Foothills Career and Technology Career Center as times and needs changed. The site closed in 2001 and the career center relocated to the site of the old Greer High School. This history summarized from Jean Martin Flynn's book An Account of Taylors, 1817-1994 (just re-read) and Executive Summary J. Harvey Bonds Career Center (PDF format).

The roadside near the gate was littered with trash, including a sofa(!). Tom came here last Sunday, and found the gate shut. Yesterday, I found the gate wide open.

Going more than a short distance inside was not happening, no matter how tempting. I contented myself recreating photos I took here during my last visit four years ago.

I went around to another side road to get a different view.

Rebekah Dobrasko, a historian who maintains a website about South Carolina equalization schools such as this one, took some photos here back in 2008. The place certainly looked much less overrun with weeds and graffiti back then.

My next stop turned about to be an old country store. I was headed up S.C. 290 toward Locust Hill School when I spotted a country store at the intersection of Dill Road I recognized from the appendices to South Carolina's Country Stores report. I turned around, took a photos, then resumed course.

Next was Locust Hill School, located almost across the street from Locust Hill Baptist Church. The church had plenty of parking (most Baptist churches around here do), so I parked in their lot. I thought it only fair to my temporary host I check out their grounds first.

I came across a time capsule. I've heard of them, seen them on TV, but I've never seen one in person before. I think I can safely guess a Bible is in there.
I also admired their bell.

I walked along a paved path through their cemetery toward the school.

This school is in the 2013 Historical Resources Survey I mentioned last time. The building is in the process of being renovated.

Next I traveled the short distance up S.C. 290 to The Hungry Drover, a former country store located at the intersection with Tigerville Road. Don't know it's history, but the place is certainly well maintained.

Nearby in Sandy Flat near Mountain View Road was a former service station, Bedells Gas and Grocery.

I obtained the location and name from the South Carolina section of Homefacts.com.

My last stop was to River Street in Duncan and the Rock Hill Negro School, opened in 1881. Don't know much about it's history, but I did find an interesting story about how the school got its lunch building.

Kudzu and other weeds obscured the buildings.

The roof in one building is in bad shape. It's too bad something isn't being done to renovate and find a new use for these historic buildings.

I've uploaded my photos from today's trip to an album on Flickr and an album on Google Photos.