The South Carolina Agricultural Museum

By Laurie Bower Epps

I've lived in the Upstate for 13 years, but frankly, all I thought Clemson was known for is football. It wasn't until a couple of years ago, that I found out Clemson University also boasts due to having one of the best agricultural programs in the country. Being a girl from the suburbs of Atlanta myself, I do have a little country in my soul as well. (But a very little...) As a young girl, I did wear braids and got my 4H in livestock. Now that I'm rekindling my own little herb garden, I just had to check the agricultural museum out.

Spring Jubilee, Part II

By Laurie Bower Epps

Now that I've joined ranks with the historic society, as well as, I'm a regular to their events. The event I'm going to share with you today, is definitely a favorite. I loved the casual elegance vibe of this first ever, Jazz Brunch at Woodburn Plantation. Woodburn is a much bigger location than Astabula. This partly played into why I chose to serve at Astabula Historic Home instead. Woodburn has a total of 4 floors, and that doesn't include the basement! Plus, it has much more extensive outlying areas. However, this paired with the photogenic quality of Woodburn is why it's the most used venue for weddings.

Spring Jubilee in Pendleton, Part 1

By Laurie Bower Epps

My fascination for the history of this region is in many way the genesis of this blog. I get to combine two things I love in one coherent piece. History has always been an important part of life. Growing up, my beloved grandmother E taught history in the local middle school, as well as, acted as the school librarian. In fourth grade, my elementary school had a history competition, and I was the first to call in almost every week. Although I didn't major in it, I'm sure it contributed to my love of history and historical fiction. To nurture this natural curiosity, I've volunteered to be a docent for this beauty with the local historical society.

Pickens County Museum of Art & History

By Laurie Bower Epps

Being a professor has given me the unique privilege of having a few days a week where I don't actually report to the office, so to speak. That doesn't mean there isn't work to be done, it just means I can work at my own pace, or in my pajamas, if necessary. A little known fact is that we do most of our work out of the classroom. But preparing for the classroom is what we thrive on.... However, after all the rain we've had, I couldn't resist the temptation of a beautiful spring-like day.

The Swan House in Atlanta

By Laurie Bower Epps

Many don't know that I'm really from Atlanta. Somehow, as I've gotten older, it just seems to be natural that I'd go home to the place of my birth for my birthday. This year is exciting because it marked my 50th birthday. I'm fortunate enough to still have my dad with me, so I got include my dad in the celebration. My dad is 90 years old, so in a way, it was his birthday too. Dad let me pick where we were going, and I have a running laundry list of places that I'd like to go. My brother was sweet enough to offer me passes to the visit the Swan House which put it on the top of my list.

Pictured in the library

Two Christmas Belle's

By Laurie Bower Epps

PENDLETON, SC-- Sort of an annual tradition for my youngest and I is to head out to nearby Pendleton for their annual open house for their local historical homes. Pendleton is located in the upstate of South Carolina about 45 minutes south of Greenville, and next door to infamous Clemson.

What made this a Christmas to remember is that the Upstate had snow! This far south, we don't see too much of the cold, wet, and white stuff on a regular basis. To my surprise, the Pendleton Historic Foundation held their open houses as planned. So Kudos to my friends in Pendleton.

Watson Mill Bridge State Park

By Laurie Bower Epps

Sorry I took a week off to plan entries for the holidays. I really hope you'll be inspired. This outing, my youngest and I set out for my home state of Georgia. To give you a little geography of my area, we're actually closer to the Northern Georgia than most of our own state. In my Georgia tourism brochures, I just felt inspired by this old bridge. Though excruciating, I did wait for the fall to see it in its grandest light.

Out in the Woods at Oconee Station

By Laurie Bower Epps

My favorite part of American History is the Revolutionary War, and just afterwards. Partially this is due to my hobby of genealogy. I discovered that I've got ancestors on both sides of the war, and usually brothers. Although I admit, my father's family leans more strongly towards the Tory side of the war. 

For 28 years of my life, I lived out in California on the other coast. Now that I'm back in one of the original 13 colonies, I'm determined to uncover as much Revolutionary War History as possible. In fact, coming in August 2018, there will be an entire month of early colonial sites from Virginia. So please bear with me. For now, sit back and enjoy a beautiful autumn day with my friend Darlene and my youngest daughter Chloe.

The Hauntingly Beautiful Robert Mills House

By Laurie Bower Epps

As many of you know, I'm also a Girl Scout leader. So when a Cemetery Hunt was in the statewide magazine as an outing with the girls, I couldn't resist. But as many a blogger will tell you, things didn't go as smoothly as they could've gone. Columbia, South Carolina is roughly two hours away and coupled with some really bad traffic due to construction and a car accident, we arrived roughly ten minutes late. Alas, the tour had already left, and we spent the bulk of our day trying to track them down. When we did finally find the

m, the tour was about to conclude, and there seemed no point to me to continue on anyway. When my daughter came to me whining from wearing the flip-flops I told her not to wear, and hungry, we set off on an adventure all our own.

Since I noticed that our starting point had my creative juices flowing, I decided to head back there and get a few pictures for all of you. Of course, we found out the last tour had also already left, and we decided to take advantage of the fact the grounds were still available for a couple more hours.

Walnut Grove Plantation (SC)

  

By Laurie Bower Epps

When my middle child was in school, I homeschooled her so she could continue to take ballet. Once we were on the east coast, I'd already learned that it was a good practice to become more involved with other homeschoolers in the community. A frequent haunt was the Walnut Grove Plantation in Roebuck, SC. Nestled up in Spartanburg County, this revolutionary gem is waiting to be discovered.

Poinsett Bridge

By Laurie Bower Epps

My dear brother Robert passed away on September 1, 2017 due to complications with cancer. I debated not doing this blog, but to clear my head, I went hiking this past Sunday with spectacular results. After reading many articles saying that GPS would steer me wrong, I worried a little bit about navigation. However, just off the Cherokee Foothills Highway, and 25 SC Highway interchange, the Poinsett Bridge is settled above the Cliffs Golf Course in plain sight from the road.

The medieval look about the bridge struck both my youngest and I immediately. We dreamed of everything from Camelot, to fairies with this magnificent bridge as our backdrop in the distance. The weather was perfect for such an outing as this... I imagined taking pictures of my middle daughter and her boyfriend here, and I hope to go back one day to do just that.

Cowpens National Battlefield

By Laurie Bower Epps

Being a Southern girl, I've been bombarded with Civil War history my entire life. Not only is it a focal point of fifth grade history class, it becomes exasperated when you move to any other part of the country. It's as if my new school chums wanted me to defend the southern stance of The War of Northern Aggression. However, due to my passion for genealogy, my family lines are far more invested in the Revolutionary War. My ancestors are predominantly Tori's, but as most historians know and my family history will dictate, we have ancestors on both sides whom are usually brothers.

The first real history book I read out of school about the Revolutionary War is Jimmy Carter's book entitled, The Hornet's Nest. Through the years, my copy of the book has been lost, however, I did remember a crucial piece of information which places Cowpens National Battlefield at the turning point of the Revolutionary War. Due to this, I've been wanting to go since I moved to the upstate 11 1/2 years ago.

Fort Hill at Clemson University

My  girls

By Laurie Bower Epps

Since before I moved to the upstate, I've followed websites like http://www.upcountrysc.com/, travel websites, and chamber of commerce boards. I'm one of those who wants to know a bit about where I'm going to be living, and be aware of what's around me. I believe that we all should be aware of what's around us, since none of us are an island in this life.


Due to this curiosity, I've got quite the laundry list of places to visit while I live in this region. One of these places is the John C. Calhoun home on the campus of Clemson.

We're All Mad at the Abbeville Opera House

By Laurie Bower Epps

Fall is so full of beautiful fall leaves and chances to go outside, this particular entry was on the virtual cutting room floor. My youngest's favorite book is Alice in Wonderland and this past summer, I read it aloud to her. As a salesperson during the week, I fell in love with the quaint little town of Abbeville, SC. When going to see clients in nearby Greenwood, I made it a point to take the route through Abbeville even though there are other routes a bit more direct. 

I did start doing some research on the town of Abbeville, and the most visited place in town is the Abbeville Opera House. With a few clicks of the mouse, I discovered my daughter's favorite book would grace the stage in early November. So I purchased tickets online, and we set out on our mommy & daughter date on a crisp fall morning.

Bulloch Hall

Dad greeted us with a smile & history book

By Laurie Bower Epps

My family got together this past Thanksgiving at my brother's home in Atlanta, GA for the first time in about three years. However, my father has become quite elderly, and at 89 years young, I paid special attention to spend time with him. Dad wanted to go to my hometown of Roswell, GA and for spectacular results. This has got to be the best kickoff to my holiday seasons blog, and was even more than I had first envisioned. With over 70 photos to choose from, I definitely had some hard choices to make.

Hagood Mill

By Laurie Bower Epps

Something about an old mill just evokes for me fall images of golden, burnt sienna, and rich sangria red leaves framing it off in the distance. My dear friend and I set off with our young daughters on an adventure into the past. 

Hoping to avoid their "fall festival" so to miss the crowds and additional cost, we set out on a beautiful autumn day with our picnic basket and cooler in tow. However, we got it perfectly wrong, but with magnificent results. Not only was there a storytelling competition going on, there were also plenty of arts and crafts to keep the kids busy.

Central Historical Society

By Laurie Epps

With fall activities in full swing, it's been even more essential that I stick close to home. But as a salesperson that travels throughout the southeast, I can't help but notice that there's a number of towns that seem to have sprung up around the railroad. I love trains. As a child, my favorite picture book was The Little Engine That Could. This love was passed along to my daughter Ellen, to whom this blog is dedicated in honor of her 20th birthday.

Campbell's Covered Bridge

Campbell's Covered Bridge, Circa 1909

By Laurie Epps

There's something about a covered bridge that seems romantic, and nostalgic. Almost everyone has seen a Christmas card sleigh ride scene with a covered bridge in it. Some would say that a covered bridge is wooden poetry, or a passageway to the past which speaks to our inner child.

After a really tough week, originally I'd planned on going to a fall festival at a plantation in Spartanburg, but an invitation from a friend in the country had an unusual appeal. I asked her about a few places that I thought would be near her farm in the country. So when she said she was just a mile from this beauty, my youngest and I set out to see it before we arrived at my friend's home.

The Wilhite House

View from McDuffie Street

By Laurie Epps

At the corner of River & McDuffie Streets in Anderson is the prominent Wilhite House. For those that don't live around here, that's a busy intersection about half a mile from the public library. The sign boasts it's the home to the man who discovered Ether but it's shell looks more like a creepy ghost story. From my daughter, I've learned that local school children are making up haunting tales about the old place. As for me, I can't dismiss it's historical significance.

Significance

Dr. Philip Abney Wilhite, owner of the grand house, was a young medical student when he administered ether to a young black man at a party in 1841. The drug anesthetized him, and the other party guests believed him to be dead. This was the beginnings for anesthesia as we know it today since the boy awoke unharmed.

Kilgore~Lewis House

By Laurie Epps

When I say that people down here are fanatical about their football, it's the understatement of the century. Being fall also means that in addition to the fabulous pumpkin spice latte's, this area becomes a sea of orange in support of nearby Clemson University on Friday afternoons. As a salesperson, I wear my orange on Fridays too, because it's just good business.

Fashion

Dress, Shrug, & bracelets
~Catherine's Plus Sizes

Metallic Sandals by Sketchers
~Rack Room Shoes

Brown Leather Handbag, Chaps by Ralph Lauren
~Kohl's