We were more than ready to get outside and enjoy nature and fresh air, so today I talked Blaine into an 8.5 mile trek over hills and through valleys ‘in search of’. Our trail map talked of remnants of a former 4-story, 350 room hotel and a bottling company. Sounds interesting, right?
Off we went!
On a trail to get to the trail we wanted.
And so we begin . . .
As I’ve mentioned before, the hiking around here is pretty much the same – through the still Fall-ish woods, not much in the way of climbing, mostly bridle trails. But that doesn’t diminish the joy we get from it! It does, however increase the distance we’re able to endure! We do take less pictures, though (even me) and that decreases our time. 😊
You can’t tell, but this tree was actually laying in a huge ravine.
That’s why I took the picture. Unfortunately, not enough depth perception on my phone. : (
Soooo . . . . are we inside or outside the zone??
These signs were all alone the route. Hmmm . . . .
Where’s the trail, for cryin’ out loud!?!?
Blaine and Chris, texting on the trail. Chris was getting a new phone.
This is a picture of a tree trunk.
I had Blaine take this picture because we both thought it was a Cedar and I was going to wax eloquently all about Cedar trees in the Old Testament. About how King David used the Cedars from Lebanon to build his palace. About how his son, Solomon used them to build the first Temple. And Ezra, the returning from exile priest, called for it to build the second Temple. About how it’s often used as a symbol of strength.
Turns out it’s not. So I won’t.
After about 3 ½ miles, we came to the one-mile spur trail that was to take us to the ruins.
The beginning of the one mile spur to the ruins.
Right at the entrance, we saw an old bucket. Somehow, I don’t think it’s from the 1880’s though. . .
There’s a trail here somewhere
Ahh! There it is!
Yes. The trail went across a tree.
Turned out I didn’t really need the stick, but at the time, I wasn’t so sure. : )
We certainly didn’t see much in the way of ruins. Here’s what we did see –
Another sign – barbed wire growing in a tree.
Or is it the tree growing around the barbed wire? : )
I don’t think this is really part of a ruin. The ‘private property’ sign kinda gives it away.
Whacha got there, hon?
An old bottle. No markings tho.
This is about all we saw of the bottling plant.
More barbed wire in a tree.
Something. Don’t know what.
The remnants of a foundation for something.
Definitely NOT the hotel. : )
Also, along the way, a bird gave its opinion of the shirt I was wearing. Now I’ll have to wash it.
So, not too interesting to see, but I did find a snippet of information about what used to be there, thanks to much research and a lengthy, informative posting by a fellow blogger (markemark4@blogspot.com), plus spotty mentions on other sites.
I have to tell you though, the date information is a bit contradictory, as far as the hotel goes and I’m not sure why. The Park map and other places speak of a 4-story hotel being built in the late 1800’s, while other sources say it was 1901. I have no idea why, but as careful as I am to use accurate details, it really sticks in my craw. However, I’ve already spent waaaay too much time trying to figure it out! You can take it as you wish.
People began coming to the area for the Spring about 1850 and stayed in small cabins before the hotel was built.
The town of Whitestone was once famous for its supposedly healing mineral spring. In the late 1800’s, construction of the White Stone Lithia Springs Hotel was begun near the spring. The springs were touted as having healing powers for kidney, liver and stomach problems and also malaria. Visitors from all over came to “take the waters” and be “cured”. Horse-drawn trolleys met the visitors at the railroad station in Whitestone and brought them out to the hotel.
In 1901, J.T. Harris bought the spring (named Kirby Spring) and renamed it White Stone Lithia Springs. The spring water was bottled and marketed as White Stone Lithia Water and claimed the ability to cure just about any ailment. In July 1902, the hotel opened for the summer season, but would open year-round by 1904. The three story brick hotel was modern by contemporary standards featuring electricity and steam heat.
Copies of newspaper ads/articles from ‘Marks’ site.
I have no idea who Mr. Stanford is. (??)
In February 1905, J.T. Harris sold the property to Solomon Scheftall. During the evening of March 11, 1906, the hotel burned down. It was never rebuilt.
The spring water bottling business continued until at least the mid 1920s. I couldn’t find any information about when it opened/was built. Records indicate that Mr. Harris shipped his bottled water as far away as Alaska and the Philippines! (Can you believe that?? In the early 1900’s??)
In 1908 and again in 1914, the company was sued and a judgment obtained against it for mislabeling. More specifically, for claiming the water “cures all liver, kidney, and bladder troubles, gout and all blood diseases”. The law used against them was The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 that banned mis-labeled food and medicinal products. The spring water was later marketed as White Stone Mineral Water, to keep out of further legal trouble.
At the end of our trail was the Whitestone Spring.
Whitestone Spring.
Hard to believe once you’ve read about this place, huh?
Broken glass and old cans in a pile other hikers have collected from here.
Our map said you could still drink from it, so of course we did!
We pretty much knew what to expect as we eyed the fountain, and we were right. It was ok, but very iron-tasting. Maybe it would have been better to taste directly from the spring, but we didn’t want to risk it. We assumed since the Park said you could drink from the fountain, it was suitable. Ehh . . . we did it. That was the main objective anyway. Certainly not because we were thirsty. Later, I read somewhere that at one time, this same fountain spouted 30’ in the air! I can’t even envision that! Not there anyway!
Oh. And we never did see anything that even resembled hotel ruins.
There were still a couple of things to see on the way back.
Horses! We actually saw a total of four today.
It’s hard to capture a sunbeam. : )
Evidently, a horse threw a shoe at some point.
But look at that!
It’s rubber/plastic!
Looks like the bottom of someone’s shoe, doesn’t it?
Also, on the way home, we passed a series of uniform embankments that looked kinda like driveways (I don’t know how else to describe them) spaced about 50 paces apart. We determined that they probably had something to do with the Infantry Training Camp that was here in 1947. The pictures didn’t turn out at all. So, sorry, no help there.
That’s how the State Park began – as Camp Croft. Here’s some of what schistory.net has to say about that:
In June 1940, the United States Army quickened its mobilization activities to train personnel in response to the situation in Europe. In the fall of 1939, Army personnel numbered a little more than 200,000 men. By November 1944, the Army had facilities to house and train six million troops in the continental United States. This drastic increase necessitated the construction of numerous mobilization training camps known as Replacement Training Centers (RTC), Camp Croft being one of four camps intended for the instruction of Infantry replacements. By March 1941, twelve RTCs were set up to provide Infantry, Field Artillery, Coast Artillery, Cavalry, and Armor.
SC Senator James F. Byrnes, having resided in nearby Spartanburg since 1924, was instrumental in bringing the training camp to the area. War Department negotiations for a proposed site in Delmar, five miles south of Spartanburg, were completed in late 1940 and ground-breaking ceremonies were held on December 5, 1940. Construction began within a week and by January of the following year over 12,000 contracted employees were at work, converting the tobacco and cotton fields into a cantonment area of 167 acres. By April 16,929 acres would be acquired to provide for training, firing and impact areas. The name of the camp, approved in January, honored Greenville, SC native Major General Edward Croft, the US Army Chief of Infantry who died in 1938.
The 263 families living in the area had to be moved before construction began and by March 1941, 109 of them had relocated on their own. Another 55 had arrangement to move while 99 others were unable to find a new home. To expedite the removal of these remaining families, 20 new pre-fabricated relocation houses were built at West Farm, about a mile from Pacolet. A crew of eight men could assemble one of the houses in just one day at a cost of less than $1000.
The construction of the new camp proved to be the largest building project in the history of the area. Originally estimated at $7.5 million to complete, the final cost was found to be $10.3 million, still a bit cheaper than it’s identical counterpart, Camp Wheeler nearby in Georgia. The project stayed on schedule despite an influenza outbreak, lumber shortages, poor weather, and a truck driver strike. In late February the cantonment area was still under construction but ready for occupation, and on March 7th the first trainees arrived and were assigned to B and C Companies of the 33rd Battalion. Several weeks before their arrival, regular army troops, forming the camp’s training cadre, had been assigned to the camp. By the end of March, the entire 33rd Battalion was activated and Camp Croft’s history as an Infantry Replacement Training Center (IRTC) began.
The camp consisted of two general areas: a troop housing (cantonment) area with attached administrative quarters and a series of training, firing, and impact ranges. The cantonment area housed 18,000 to 20,000 trainees as well as cadre and service personnel. Along with the barracks and requisite headquarters buildings for the 16 training battalions, the camp buildings included the post headquarters, post office, post exchange, service clubs, movie theaters, chapels, hospitals, dental clinic, Red Cross, and numerous others. Construction continued until May 1941, when construction of 674 buildings under the original contracts was declared complete. One month later the first soldiers, those from the 33rd Training Battalion, graduated from the 13 week course and were sent to join the 28th Division in Pennsylvania.
Between 65,000 and 75,000 troops moved through the Croft IRTC every year. Most of the trainees were “selectees” meaning they were men drafted into service through Selective Service rather than volunteers.
While all the men learned the same basic infantry skills, there was also specialty training which prepared each man to be a member of Rifle, Heavy Weapons, Cannon, Antitank, Headquarters, or Service Company.
The firing ranges at Croft consisted of pistol, rifle, machine gun, mortar, antiaircraft, and antitank ranges. Weaponry used on the ranges included hand and rifle grenades; 45 caliber (cal) pistol; 30 cal M1, M1 carbine, and BAR; 30 cal light and heavy machine gun; 50 cal machine gun; 60 mm and 81 mm mortar; bazooka; 37 mm antitank gun; and the 105 mm infantry howitzer. The camp also contained 2 gas chambers and a gas obstacle course.
Officers, enlisted men, nurses, and WACs were not the only residents of the camp. Possibly as many as 500 German POWs, some the Afrika Corps, were housed at Croft and used as labor on local farms, orchards, and forests. Their presence caused concerns among some of Spartanburg residents who disliked the idea of “those guys” being close to their homes.
In 1947, the entire acreage of the former Camp Croft was declared surplus by the War Assets Administration. By 1950, the Army sold the land by pieces to organizations and businesses, including the transfer of 7,088 acres of land to the South Carolina Commission of Forestry for the creation of the Croft State Park. The remaining acreage has been converted to residential housing, and industrial and commercial businesses.
By the way, history records WWII beginning with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, with the United States entering the war with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The war is recognized as having three endings – 1. The unconditional surrender of Germany to the Allies (including Britain and the US) on May 8, 1945. 2. When Germany surrendered to Russia on May 9, 1945. Both these happened about 1 week after Hitler committed suicide and are known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe). 3. When Japan surrendered unconditionally on August 14th and signed their surrender on September 2, 1945. This was after the US dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 9th of August.
That’s enough history for today! We headed home for homemade spaghetti and meatballs, salad and garlic bread . . . and a Christmas light show from two of our neighbors!
