Marks Photo Travels - now at marksphototravels.blogspot.com!

The day after hiking to Hospital Rock , I paid a visit to Lyman in western Spartanburg County to explore some of town's mill history. Since my previous trips to Lyman, I've gained more tidbits of Lyman history thanks to the informative members of the Facebook group Days At Pacific Mills A Lyman Group . Lyman, unlike  some other mill towns in the area, is doing well with a residential area full of well maintained homes, and a small but vibrant. From reading over posts in the group, I found several points of historical interest to visit. I parked in the large parking lot once belonging to the now demolished Lyman Mill across the street. The town of Lyman bought the parking lot, and uses a small part of it as a recycling center, and another part is where free firewood is available. Along the edge of the parking lot is a long abandoned railroad spur. Part of the spur's right-of-way has recently become  the Lyman Rail Trail . This section should become part of the rail trail...

Hospital Rock Trail is a strenuous 4.4 mile trek from Jones Gap State Park  to Falls Creek Falls on Falls Creek where the trail becomes Falls Creek Falls Trail . I've hiked in Jones Gap State Park several times before, but this time I planned to visit Buckeye Falls and Hospital Rock, two places I've never visited before, and both on Hospital Rock Trail. Hospital Rock Trail begins near the old fish hatchery a short distance beyond a foot bridge over the Middle Saluda River. The Cleveland Fish Hatchery , South Carolina's first state owned fish hatchery, was built in 1931 by the South Carolina DNR and operated until 1963. Part of the hatchery has been restored for educational purposes. What interested me was a map showing where the other parts of the fish hatchery were located. I believe the waterwheel casing shown on the map was here, behind a decaying split rail fence: Vegetation eliminated any chance of taking a clear photo of the masonry. As I headed down Hospital Rock Tr...