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This 167 acre
park was the site of the original waterworks for the City of Columbia.
This was also the site of the world's first electrically operated textile
mill and the hydroelectric plant, the oldest one in the state that is
still operating.
A popular jogging/walking trail runs two and one half miles along
the linear park and offers wonderful views of the river. There is also
a beautiful brick amphitheater as well as a self guided walkway by the
old parts of the water plant.
The park, which separates the Historic Columbia Canal and the convergence
of the Congaree, Saluda, and Broad Rivers is approximately 167 acres.
Most of these photos are from 2020, but a few taken in 2023 have been
added and labeled as such. |
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Below - South
Carolina Crime Victims Memorial |
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Below:
A piece of art depicting the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily as mentioned in
the above photo. |
November 2020 photo |
June 2023 photo |
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As the two RV
Gypsies approached the footbridge, they stopped at a granite stone monument.
The poem, a four-stanza ode entitled "Congaree" hails the river
as "O tawny flood!" It is composed in metrically competent
Faerie Queene stanzas. The author, Max Revelise (1907-1962), wrote the
ode to the Congaree River. |
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Below: The
entry bridge in 2020 |
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Below: Karen Duquette on
the bridge, November 2020 |
Below: The bridge in June,
2023 |
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Below: Views
from the footbridge in November 2020 and ( June 2023 with muddy waters) |
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Below: November 2020 photo |
Below: June 2023 photo |
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Below: View
from the bridge in June 2023 |
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Below: A sign
about the Canal's history and several different views of the canal. |
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Below: Slightly
different angles of the same canal in November 2020 and June 2023 |
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Below: Lee Duquette
on the stairs at the patio area with art on the walls (and balloons
from a party previously held here). |
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Then the two
RV Gypsies entered through the red doors shown in the photo below to
view the Hydraulic Turbine house and learn a bit of its history. |
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Below: Sometimes you just
have to see it to believe it!!!! No words needed! |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies were fascinated by a four-sided rock monument with
a lot of hidden items embedded in it, such as a plastic knife, a bottle,
a clasp, tools, an old cell phone, a skeleton and lots more. After photographing
each side, Karen Duquette took a few close-ups of a few of the embedded
items. How many items can you find in the multitude of photos below??? |
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Above: 2020
photos, below 2023 photos |
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Below: A monument
in memory of the Irish who built the Canal. - 2020 photos |
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There was also
an empty pedestal where a statue of Christopher Columbus used to be.
But the statue was vandalized several times and had to be taken down.
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