No one knows where the name originated, but if you have ever visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, you have been on Purgatory Mountain. In 1971, a land grant of nearly 1,400 acres from Purgatory Mountain was issued to designate and build the state’s Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Some believe the name originated from…
The I-85 Median Cemetery in Cherokee County
Here is something else you may not be aware of. There is a graveyard between the northbound and southbound lanes near exits 95 and 96 in Cherokee County on Interstate 85. Nicknamed the I-85 Median Cemetery, the Lipscomb-Sarratt Cemetery dates to 1799. According to a goupstate article dated April 29, 2001, “The graves are about…
Land of Oz: No Place Like Home
Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, North Carolina, was/is a theme park based on L Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series comprises 14 books in total by Baum. Baum’s description of Kansas in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was based on his experiences in drought-ridden South Dakota in 1888….
Legend of Becky Cotton
We are led to believe that Lavinia Fisher was the first female serial killer widely recognized in the United States. While Mrs. Fisher, who died by hanging on February 18, 1820, for highway robbery, not murder, could have certainly been a female serial killer, was she the first? If looks could kill, Becky Cotton from…
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon, located at 122 E. Bay Street, is a Charleston landmark built in 1771 as a commercial exchange and customs house. During the American Revolution, tea confiscated by the British was stored here. After the British captured the city in 1780, it was a barracks, and the basement served as…
The Poor Houses in South Carolina
In the 19th and 20th centuries, some counties in South Carolina established poor houses as places where paupers were sent to live. Often, they were elderly or disabled people in the community who had nowhere else to turn. Usually, a Poor House was accompanied by a Poor House Farm, where the able-bodied worked until they…
The Rose Hill Plantation
Built between 1828 and 1832, the beautiful Rose Hill Plantation is a historic site in Union County, South Carolina. Nestled along the Tyger River. Rose Hill Plantation served as the South Carolina Governor’s mansion during William Henry Gist’s (1807-1874) time in office from 1858 through 1860. The home offers insight into the upcountry cotton plantation…
The South Carolina Tornado from HELL
A tornado that stays on the ground for 135 miles sounds like something from a horror movie or the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz. But that nightmare became a reality on April 30, 1924. The Horrell Hill Tornado is considered one of the worst disasters and the longest in the state’s history. The disastrous…
Historic 2015 South Carolina Flood
This historic storm had a significant impact on the lower part of the state, including Columbia. The major flood event consisted of a four- to five-day stretch of on-and-off heavy rainfall in early October 2015. It started with an early-season cold front, which stalled off the coast after pushing through the southeast. While Hurricane Joaquin…
1999 Hurricane Floyd
It is hard to believe it has been almost 26 years since Hurricane Floyd, then the worst hurricane in the state’s history, slammed into Eastern North Carolina. The storm crashed ashore on September 16, 1999, resulting in 51 fatalities, record flooding, and billions in damage. The monster hurricane’s storm surge amounted to 9-10 feet along…