Furman Lake

Furman University dammed creeks that feed the Reedy River in the 1950s too create this artificial lake in the center of its campus, making a great spot to walk. When originally built, they even brought in sand for a swimming spot too! But because it is artificial, it degraded with time, and by 2006, the university needed to launch a Lake Restoration project (linked below).

As a university, Furman has been teaching students about the relationship of native Cherokee to this area. For example, in 2019 they created a recognition statement that says: "We acknowledge that Furman University occupies traditional land of the Cherokee People, a land where the Catawba and other indigenous people might also have found food. Long before our Alma Mater sang of the mountain river that laves ‘our mother’s’ feet, the Cherokee honored that water, the land through which it flowed, and all the creatures living on the land with them. From the natural world, they also learned to live and form communities of respect. It is with gratitude that we, too, honor the land and the people who have stewarded it through many generations. We also must acknowledge that we benefit from the Cherokees’ loss of land and commit to remembering the human cost of colonialism. This Land Acknowledgement challenges us to learn from the Cherokee people and to draw from their wisdom about community, resilience, and the meaning of life which this land nurtured."

The Lake Restoration project seems like a great way to educate and help students learn to appreciate nature as it might have been before the fertilizers and pollution brought so much danger.

To learn more, please visit The Lake Restoration Project webpages.