Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Water Turbine and a Moravian Pastor

A strange title for a post ... maybe not.

Water turbine used to drive the pumps
in the old Columbia Canal Water Plant

The turbine was manufactured
by the S. Morgan Smith Co. of York Pa.

Using Google I found out this bit of information about S. Morgan Smith.
Mr. Morgan had been a Moravian pastor and a chaplain in the Civil War before he invented turbine water-wheels. There is a stained glass window in his memory in the First Moravian Church 0f York,PA


Monday, January 29, 2007

Old Columbia Water Plant



Built in 1906 next the Columbia Canal, the pumps were powered by water turbines and were capable of pumping 7 million gallons per day. The plant was in use until the 1970's.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Waste Weir

On top of the Columbia Canal waste weir

Waste weir: an overflow, or weir, for the escape of surplus water from a canal or reservoir; a dam-like structure along the canal berm with openings to control the water level.

Video showing water flowing from the Columbia Canal waste weir into the Congaree river.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Columbia Canal Bridge

This old railway bridge(1908) manufactured by the American Bridge Company was moved here from within the state and now serves as a pedestrian walkway across the canal.


Friday, January 26, 2007

Historic Columbia Canal

The Columbia Canal was completed in 1824 and allowed safe transportation around the shoals and rapids on the Congaree river. In the early days it transported an average of 30,000 bales of cotton each year. Since 1906 it has been a source of water for the city of Columbia, SC. In 1979 the Columbia Canal was listed in the National Register of Historic places. The canal is now part of Riverfront Park and includes a two-and-one-half-mile walking trail along the canal.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Congaree Gaging Station

Water data has been collected at this gaging station since 1934. Current data on water height and discharge rate is reported every 15 minutes and is available on the Internet at this U.S. Geological Survey website.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Gervais Street Bridge

The Gervais Street bridge over the Congaree river in Columbia, SC.



The 1,415 foot-long bridge was opened in 1927 and is the third bridge built on the Congaree at this point. The first bridge was built in 1827 and was burned by Confederate soldiers to delay the advance of Sherman's troops. The second bridge was built in 1870. The regularly spaced remnants of stone piers from previous bridges can be seen in the photo below.



Stone abutment from previous bridges.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

The cathedral was built in 1846 and replaced an earlier wooden structure from 1814. It is modeled after York Cathedral in England and is the oldest church building in Columbia, SC. Of special interest in the church are the baptismal font designed by the sculptor, Hiram Powers; the great trinity window over the front door and the Carrara marble altar.
Under the ancient oaks and magnolias of Trinity's Churchyard are buried some of South Carolina's most distinguished sons and daughters.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

An Early Spring?

A saucer magnolia blooming on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds. This brings back memories of visiting Washington DC when the cherry blossoms were in bloom.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Friday, January 19, 2007

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Thomas B. Cooper meets Wikipedia

Many times while waiting for the Socastee swing bridge to open and close, I have wondered about the history of this old building.

One day I stopped and read this sign.

I googled "Socastee Historic District" on the Internet and found more information from the SC Dept of Archives and History. The old building was the Thomas B. Cooper store dating to 1905.

Enter Wikipedia: My son, Robert, has been editing articles for Wikipedia and thought that I should too. If you are not familiar with Wikipedia, check out this description. I checked and there was no entry for the Socastee Historic District in Wikipedia but now there is. Check out my first Wikipedia article (click here). It still needs more information and I plan to visit the Conway public library and Horry County Museum in the near future.

I have also added an article for Atalaya castle and have ideas for several more.
What I like about this is I can use my love of photography, history and computers.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Pair of Cormorants

Notice the four-toed web feet. Cormorants belong to the same order (Pelecaniformes) as pelicans.



Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Waccamaw River Memorial Bridge



The bridge is 1270 feet long
and opened to the public in April, 1938.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Murals at Blackwater Market

These wall murals of Conway scenes are featured in the interior walkway at Blackwater Market in downtown Conway.



Saturday, January 13, 2007

Old Steamer Terminal

This warehouse was built ca. 1880 as the terminal for the Waccamaw Line of Steamers operated by Burroughs and Collins, which ran on the river until 1919. This building along with several others comprise the Waccamaw River Warehouse Historic District which was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1986.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Camellias in the Churchyard

Camellias at Kingston Presbyterian Church - Conway,SC




My favorite -
a new bud flowering amongst the Spanish moss.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

An Old Church and Spanish Moss

The present sanctuary of the Kingston Presbyterian Church in Conway, SC was built in 1858. The original church began in the 1700's when the area was Kingston township, later known as Conwayborough and eventually Conway.


The Spanish moss is abundant in the trees around the church.

The cemetary contains graves dating back to the 1700's
and is listed on the on National Registry of Historic Places.

Tomorrow we will take a look
at the Camellias in the church yard.

Monday, January 08, 2007

The Art of Glassblowing

A demonstation of glassblowing by Eddie Streeter at Pop's Glass Station in Conway,SC. The studio is a former 1900's horse stable.





Sunday, January 07, 2007

Conway Art Walk


Saturday was a beautiful day to take advantage of the first Art Walk in Conway. The theme was "The Art of Photography" and many of the shops had photographs of local history by amateur and professional photographers on display. This event is going to be held the first Saturday of each month.

Historic downtown Conway is a "gem" hidden away from all the billboards, glitter and traffic of Myrtle Beach.

Riverwalk along the Waccamaw river
Conway, SC

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Friday, January 05, 2007

Another sign ...

of Global Warming?
Maybe, maybe not .. but weeds may be the least of our future problems.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Think Small

Some days there doesn't seem to be any big photo opportunities, but that is when it helps to "think small" . Macro (close-up) photography can lead to some interesting photos.
empty seed pod on crepe myrtle