J. Thurmond: “In many respects, the heritage corridor forms a microcosm of the lower South and its history. In the upper region of the…”

“In many respects, the heritage corridor forms a microcosm of the lower South and its history. In the upper region of the corridor, during the 1750's and 1760's, settlers and migrants came in search of rich lands. This area became a center of cotton and agricultural production. As westward lands opened up for settlement, it was a major jumping off point for migration during the ante-bellum years. Significant events in the industrial and transportation history of the South took place in the corridor. Graniteville was the birthplace of the southern textile industry. It is the site of the first large-scale cotton mill in the South, built in 1845. This became one of the most important manufacturing centers in the pre-Civil-War South, a model for the textile industry. Located on one of the South's major cotton routes, it remains a textile center today. To accommodate the westward moving cotton crop, South Carolina merchants built the Charleston to Hamburg railroad, the longest railroad in the Nation in 1832. The corridor also contains precious natural resources. The Francis Beidler Forest contains the largest remaining virgin stand of bald cyprus and tupelo trees in the world. Additionally, the Cathedral Bay Heritage Wildlife Preserve contains unique geological features known as the Carolina Bays. These oval depressions in the Earth, the origin of which remains a mystery, hold black water lakes.”