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Driving around Lancaster County, I stumbled across the 40-Acre Rock Heritage Preserve. What a find! Standing atop the gigantic granite rock, you feel on top of the world (well, at least on top of Lancaster County!). On a clear day, you can seemingly see forever from the crest of Forty Acre Rock in Lancaster County, where the Sandhills meet the Piedmont. According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, "the entire Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve encompasses 1,567 acres of the most diverse protected area in the Piedmont region, including granite flatrocks, waterslide, waterfall, beaver pond, cave, hardwood and pine forests, and a variety of wildflowers and wildlife. The Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve is designated as a National Natural Landmark."
"The rock are home to 16 rare plant species. Twelve of the plants are endangered species. A tiny plant, amphiantus or "pool sprite," is the rarest. It is known to exist in only 5 other places in the world. All of the plants have adapted to their environment so well that, even though the pools dry up in the summer, the seeds survive and the plants bloom the following spring."
"The rock is covered with numerous pits or cisterns hollowed out, as is supposed, by the Indians for holding water. At Forty Acre Rock, it is believed that the Indians ground their corn in hollowed pits on the rock's surface. One particularly large pit was known by the early settlers as "King Hagler's Punchbowl," in reference to the popular Catawba king who was slain by Shawnee Indians in 1763."
It was a very neat (and out-of-the-way) place in Lancaster County - one that will be included in our "Catawba Outdoors" trail!
"The rock are home to 16 rare plant species. Twelve of the plants are endangered species. A tiny plant, amphiantus or "pool sprite," is the rarest. It is known to exist in only 5 other places in the world. All of the plants have adapted to their environment so well that, even though the pools dry up in the summer, the seeds survive and the plants bloom the following spring."
"The rock is covered with numerous pits or cisterns hollowed out, as is supposed, by the Indians for holding water. At Forty Acre Rock, it is believed that the Indians ground their corn in hollowed pits on the rock's surface. One particularly large pit was known by the early settlers as "King Hagler's Punchbowl," in reference to the popular Catawba king who was slain by Shawnee Indians in 1763."
It was a very neat (and out-of-the-way) place in Lancaster County - one that will be included in our "Catawba Outdoors" trail!
1 comment:
I had no idea this existed! Have lived in SC for over half my life. Wow! Thanks Ben Boyles for another informative article.
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