Tour - Hidden History of Greenville Water

Hidden History of Greenville Water

Greenville, South Carolina 29617, United States

Created By: Brandon Inabinet

Tour Information

Produced by the 2019 and 2020 Introduction to Rhetoric classes at Furman University, students dive into the archives to learn the past of Greenville through its connection with water. This tour will be told from the perspective of a local young Cherokee girl named Ama.

Hi! My name is Ama. "Ama" in Cherokee means water. My family has lived in Greenville since long before it was given that name. You may have heard that Greenville has the “best tasting water in the US,” and environmentally one of the most biodiverse regions in North America because of the Blue Ridge Mountains water runoff. This makes it an especially interesting topic for digging deeper and seeing what springs up. Join me as I tell you about Greenville's past in water rights, usage, and treatment through the eyes of my Cherokee roots.

(If you are using the mobile app, you may want to turn off audio narration so that you can click on our audio files by local experts! Also know that you can swipe left and right for multiple images at each site.)

Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

Cherokee Statue

For many centuries before European colonists came, the area now known as Greenville County was home to my ancestors of the Cherokee Nation. In remembrance of our Cherokee ancestors, Greenville has erected a ten-foot bronze statue of an “a... Read more

Edwards Mill

The Edwards Mill was once the name of two local mills, one owned by Thomas Edwards and another owned by Joseph Edwards. Although the two mills were similar in producing flour and wheat, one sadly burned down in the 1800s. The Edwards Mill t... Read more

Chick Springs Resort

I love still visiting Chick Springs because you can see, right off the big highway, the natural quiet that would have been a great place for my family to hunt and relax. In 1842, Dr. Burwell Chick, a physician from Newberry, South Carolin... Read more

Paris Mountain

My ancestors used this mountain's water for everything: transportation, navigation, food, medicine, cleaning, and so much more. The 1,540-acre State Park sits on land that was once the main water source for the city of Greenville. Paris Mou... Read more

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 ... Read more

Reedy River Falls

My Cherokee ancestors would meet at the falls itself to trade goods, as it was an obvious natural landmark for people traveling in the region. They used to drink from this river. Now, caution signs warn even against swimming in it! Sixty-f... Read more

Cleveland Park

This park was named for William Choice Cleveland, who donated 110 acres of land in 1926 that once belonged to the Cherokee people. The city opened the park and promised to fill it with baseball fields, tennis courts, a track, a playground, ... Read more

Lake Conestee

Parts of Lake Conestee Nature Preserve reflect the tranquility and marshy land that once stood on the river banks. But underneath, there is a hidden danger. Up to the mid-1800s white settlers in the South sent the raw cotton to New England ... Read more