See some special Rock Hill region land sites this month that you normally can’t see
Nature lovers across South Carolina will have access this month to places they usually wouldn’t, including two in the Rock Hill region.
The South Carolina Land Trust Network will hold its first month-long celebration of land trusts, or groups that help property owners preserve land. York County has Nation Ford Land Trust. Katawba Valley Land Trust largely serves Lancaster County. Some areas with limited or no public access will open to guests as part of the state program.
A first-day event will be held Saturday at Clover Rock Outcrop. Typically the property isn’t open to the public. Nation Ford Land Trust will host a cleanup event at 106 Hilltop Lane in Clover from 9 a.m. to noon. Culture and Heritage Museums curator Steve Fields will give a presentation on the property.
“The 10-acre site features a unique ecosystem among hills of rock where all kinds of niche species make their home in ephemeral pools,” said Steve Hamilton, Nation Ford Land Trust director. “This type of easement is a rarity in York County and we are proud that such a county treasure was preserved early on in our founding.”
A Lancaster site will host the last public event.
Katawba Valley will host a Star Party with the Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club at 1427 Bloomwood Dr. in Lancaster. The Oct. 29 event starts at 6 p.m. A site tour will be followed by a program, then club telescopes will be pointed toward the sky for guests to try.
Land trust work
Nation Ford work spans preservation efforts from the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill decades ago to ongoing assistance with Catawba Bend Nature Preserve in York County. Fishing Creek Place is the latest effort.
On S.C. Highway 324 on the outskirts of Rock Hill, Nation Ford worked with the Lazenby family to protect 110 acres of forest, wetland, boulder fields and other natural space. Andrew and Mary Lazenby also found a cemetery for people who had been enslaved. More than 150 graves were found. New headstones were carved to mark the property.
Combined, Nation Ford has worked with about 15,000 acres of York County property. Katawba Valley has saved more than 9,000 acres of Lancaster and Chester county properties, and about 2,500 acres in four more counties. Properties include Landsford Canal State Park expansion, the 2,000-acre Heritage Tract in Great Falls and more than 2,500 acres at Forty Acre Rock in Lancaster County.
For more on the organizations or upcoming events, visit or nationfordlandtrust.org or kvlt.org.
