Chick Springs Update
Happy March, everyone! Chick Springs is a topic we've mentioned in passing in these essays before, but today we're giving you a brief overview of it's history, current status, and future plans!
The Past
Photo Courtesy of the Chick Springs Historical Society.
The Cherokee identified the spring we now call Chick Springs as a significant spot long before European settlement. When families first arrived to set up homes in the area now known as Greenville County, the area around the spring was one of the first areas settled. In 1840, Dr. Burwell Chick opened a resort near the property and built a hotel and cottages for summer guests.
The coming of the Southern Railway in the 1870s and 80s expanded access to the site, allowing visitors as far away as Richmond and New Orleans to access and enjoy the springs' "healing powers". Many summer resorts, a military academy and a sanitarium were operated on the hill above the mineral springs until the final structure (of over 100 rooms) shuttered in the early twentieth century.
The property around the springhouse has remained under private control without public access since then. Several enterprises, such as the Chick Springs Swimming Pool, operated parts of it, but no large-scale public access persisted. In 2017, the family who owned the property sold it with the stipulation that critical portions would someday become a public park.
Present
Taylors TownSquare has taken the lead in bringing a public park at Chick Springs to fruition. Working with the founding members of the former Chick Springs Historical Society and the current property owner, we are actively working to acquire, preserve, and open up the property so that all the public can learn about and enjoy this historic location in the Upstate.
Photo Courtesy of the Chick Springs Historical Society.
Future
Taylors TownSquare is working in partnership with the current property owner to acquire the property and will work to open it as a park. Although it is anticipated that Greenville County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism will eventually become the ultimate caretaker of the property, Taylors TownSquare is taking these steps forward so that the property will no longer be neglected and unprotected.
The next steps include:
Completing acquisition of the property, hopefully in the coming months
Developing and beginning the execution of a master plan for usage and safety
Working towards linkage with a potential Enoree River Trailway
Transferring it eventually to Greenville County Recreation for long-term protection
How You Can Help
Taylors First Baptist has hosted their Love Taylors Day the past few years on April 1, and they are doing work at the Chick Springs site this year with our team. If you are able, you can sign up to volunteer that day at this link via Taylors FBC:
Additional financial support is necessary to ensure success. Would you consider a one-time or a recurring donation to Taylors TownSquare to further these efforts to preserve this lovely, historic property?
Your contribution will assist with the following:
Preserving the existing historical structures
Paying annual insurance costs (~$1,000/year)
Maintaining the grounds
Adding signage to explain the history
Finishing the parking area
Rebuilding the bridge over Lick Creek
Download a PDF of this information: Chick Springs Prospectus
Thanks for reading along with us, and see you all next month!
