Mark's Photo Travels

The recent all-too-frequent wet weather relented for a few days last week finally allowing me a chance to visit an old grist mill on my to-visit list for some time now, Raines Mill on Fall Creek in western Oconee County, South Carolina. This one made my list because of the large waterwheel and for a number of small waterfalls located upstream on Fall Creek. I made my way there by turning off U.S. 76 on to Chattooga Ridge Road then on to Fall Creek Road. I parked by a pull off... and walked down the road, passing by the gated road leading to the mill, to turn down an ungated road... I didn't want to take my car down that road in case it couldn't make it through a muddy area, like this one... I passed by the ruins of a concrete block building... then I wandered around exploring the mill and the waterfalls. Raines Mill and Upstream Waterfalls Raines Mill was built around 1914 by Luther Henry Raines (1887-1970 ), a preacher and leader of Long Creek Academy ...

The day after hiking to Hospital Rock , I paid a visit to Lyman in western Spartanburg County to explore some of town's mill history. Since my previous trips to Lyman, I've gained more tidbits of Lyman history thanks to the informative members of the Facebook group Days At Pacific Mills A Lyman Group . Lyman, unlike  some other mill towns in the area, is doing well with a residential area full of well maintained homes, and a small but vibrant. From reading over posts in the group, I found several points of historical interest to visit. I parked in the large parking lot once belonging to the now demolished Lyman Mill across the street. The town of Lyman bought the parking lot, and uses a small part of it as a recycling center, and another part is where free firewood is available. Along the edge of the parking lot is a long abandoned railroad spur. Part of the spur's right-of-way has recently become  the Lyman Rail Trail . This section should become part of the r...