Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital of South Carolina. In keeping with Sue’s theme visiting state capitals so that some day she can quiz the grandkids, we started our visit with South Carolina’s State Museum. The museum gives a good overview of the state from the colonial period to the present. Pre-Civil War, the state had the cotton and rice crops which required large amounts of field labor. At that time, 53 per cent of the population of South Carolina were slaves. A visit to the State House gave the history of the capital moving from Charleston, SC to Columbia, SC in 1786 so that the capital would be closer to the center of the state and would be more accessible to its people. They began the present State House in 1850 and construction stopped during the Civil War. General Sherman, in his march through Columbia, in 1865 burned down the wooden state house and damaged the present state house which was currently under construction. Half of Columbia was burned during Sherman’s march through the city. At the State House there is a beautiful outside monument dedicated the people of South Carolina in order to recognize the many accomplishments and the contribution of the Afro-Americans to this state. It took the period from the slave auction block to the present illustrating Afro-Americans triumph over adversity in South Carolina.
The Governor’s Mansion is located on Governor’s Green. It is a beautiful setting and we enjoyed walking through the many gardens located on the grounds. The mansion tours were not available and I’m certain we will come back sometime to Columbia to take one.
The Riverfront area was established as a network of canals in order to supply water to the city and to produce electric power. Columbia had the first textile mill which was run completely on electrical power. GE built thirteen 65 h.p. motors in order to run the mill. The mill was in operation until the 1970’s when textile manufacturing went overseas. The mill building is the State Museum.

Congaree National Park South Carolina

Congaree National Park South Carolina
The park sits along the Congaree River. This 22,200 acre park protects the largest contiguous area of old growth, bottomland, and hardwood forests in the U.S. It is a world of primeval landscapes, champion trees, diverse plants and animal life along with tranquility. The park experiences wet and dry periods as the river floods and recedes with seasonal rains. The trees escaped large scale cuttings due to the difficulty of logging in this wetland area. Congaree National Park ranks as one of the most diverse forest community in North America. There are 22 different plant communities in the park. Preliminary surveys have found more than 80 species of trees, more 170 bird species, 60 reptile and amphibian species and 49 different species of fish. It was amazing to take a 2.5 mile walk on an elevated boardwalk and see the different plant communities and variations of trees. The park is an excellent place to kayak. It can be dangerous since approximately 10 times each year, flood waters from the Congaree River cover the park with a sheet of fast moving water. Bob looked at a 7 mile trip with the kayak but decided he should not do it alone and will return here when the park offers guided kayak trips. Over time, I am certain that we will spend some more at this National Park because of the various eco systems. Bald Cypress and Tupelo trees both grow wide at the base anchoring each tree in the mud. The Bald Cypress produce knees that rise up from the forest floor. Are they snorkels or anchors?

Cowpens National Battlefield

Cowpens National Battlefield
When us Yankees think of the Revolutionary War we think of Paul Revere’s ride and the Boston Tea Party. In South Carolina, they think of the Southern Campaign from 1778-1781. When the British realized that they had lost the North, they headed to the Southern States to try to keep control for the rice and spices produced there. The British sailed into Charleston taking control and then began their march towards Yorktown, VA. Tarleton was a ruthless British officer. Morgan was a frontiersman who was a volunteer. The Battle at Cowpens was a decisive defeat for the British. The battle was over in less than an hour. British losses were staggering, 110 killed, 229 wounded and 600 captured or missing. Morgan’s losses were: 24 killed and 104 wounded. This battle on January 17, 1781 was a decisive victory for the Continentals. What amazed us about the battlefield itself is the close proximity of the actual firing lines. They would fire within 40 yards of one another. The total battlefield was less than a .5 mile and Morgan’s victory was quick and precise.

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Carl Sandburg was already famous when he moved with his family to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina in 1945. Poet, minstrel, lecturer, biographer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author spent his lifetime championing social justice and the American people through his writings and songs. He was 67 at the time that he moved here and spent the next 22 years until his death writing at this home site where 1/3 of all of his works were accomplished. He died in 1967 and his wife sold the home to the National Park Service and donated all of the contents including his many books and reading materials. There were over 14,000 volumes in the house alone. The reason that he ended up actually in North Carolina was that Mrs. Sandburg and his youngest daughter, Hilga, needed a large farm in order to raise goats. Lilian, "Paula", Sandburg was internationally renowned as a goat breeder and was one of the outstanding pioneers of the American goat industry. The grounds here at this historical site are lovely with rolling hills, pastures and a pond along with barns to see.

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Our 27th President, William Howard Taft, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1857. Taft is the only person who was both a President and Chief Justice in his lifetime. His presidency ran from 1909 to 1913 and he served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930. He spent his complete life in service to his country. The main thing that we had completely forgot about was that President Roosevelt was the person who pushed Taft into office and then the two had a great political falling out which actually split the Republican vote and insured victory for the Democratic rival Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt headed the ticket for the Bull Moose "Progressive" Party and ran against Taft and Wilson. As always, in visiting a site honoring one of our Presidents, it does bring back much of history to our minds. We drove around Cincinnati and then drove across the Ohio River and enjoyed a picnic along the Kentucky side of the Ohio River overlooking Cincinnati. The baseball stadium, as in San Francisco, is right on the waterfront.

Northern Indiana

Before having the motor home serviced at Newmar in Nappanee, IN, where it was built, we spent a week visiting museums and surrounding Amish countryside. The Studebaker Museum in South Bend was interesting since Studebaker went from manufacturing wagons to automobiles. In the first 2 years that Studebaker manufactured cars they were actually electric. Studebaker had quite an impact on Northern Indiana. Oliver Museum and Mansion gave an insight on how the wealthy lived in the 1890's. Oliver invented the process for hardening cast iron. The plow that he manufactured had an impact on the opening of farming in the mid-west and west. The plow had a hard face and a soft back in order to take the rugged work during plowing. It is always a joy to visit the Amish craft shops and countryside here as well. We had some great food but could not always allow ourselves to eat that plentiful all of the time.

We got to visit with Sue's friend, Maura, who is now a professor at Notre Dame and Sue knew when Maura was at Holy Cross. Her husband, Paul, was off on a business trip in Sweden and also is a professor at Notre Dame. Their twin daughters, Meggie and Annie, who are 9 years old had grown a foot since when saw them in the spring of 07. They had us over for dinner and it was a very nice visit. We got the slide on our motor home repaired at the Newmar facility and were on the road once again.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa

Our 31st President, Herbert Hoover, had a modest Quaker upbringing living his early years in West Branch, Iowa. He was orphaned at an early age and at 11 years of age he was sent to live in Oregon with his mother's brother, Dr. Henry Minthorn. Herbert was educated as mining engineer and was very successful all over the world. Hoover's humanitarian efforts, during and after WWI and service as Secretary of Commerce, made him a highly respected figure. His presidency was daunted by the Depression. At that time, he was definitely blamed for not doing more. Many historians say he did as much as possible in the short time that was President. He went on to be quite the humanitarian working closely with feeding the hungry and expanding the Boys Club of America. He was well respected and worked well into his 80's.

The museum did have a section devoted to the children of the various presidents who lived in the White House. Until one sees it all together it was difficult for us to realize who actually lived part of their childhood on 1600 PA Avenue.