The State of South Carolina has a group of protected areas managed by the South Carolina State Park Service (often abbreviated to SCPRT or Park Service). Formed in 1933 in conjunction with the formalization of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps program, the State Park Service is administered by the state's Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT). There are a total of 47 facilities that the State Park Service administers, protecting more than 90,000 acres of sensitive, attractive, and/or historically significant lands in South Carolina.[2] The facilities fall under four types of classifications:
- 38 State Parks
- 8 State Historic Sites
- 1 State Resort Park
- 1 State Recreational Area
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1933 |
| Headquarters | 1205 Pendleton Street Columbia, SC 29201 |
| Annual budget | $120 million (2008)[1] |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism |
| Website | http://www.southcarolinaparks.com |
Cheraw State Park was the first park to be proposed within the system in 1934 with Myrtle Beach State Park becoming the first park to open in 1936.[3] Within six years, the State of South Carolina and the CCC opened 17 state parks.[4] Originally under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Park Service has been a unit within the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism since its formation in 1967. Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort County is the most popular state park in South Carolina and among the most popular in the United States, attracting 1.2 million visitors per year.
Following the Nukegate scandal, Dominion Energy settled with the South Carolina tax agency on $165 million in unpaid taxes owed due to an unfinished nuclear project in Fairfield County. As part of that settlement, the state agency and Dominion Energy agreed that Dominion would offset approximately a third of the unpaid taxes by turning over more than 2,900 acres of land which will ultimately become six new state parks in the coming years. The first state park expected to open from the settlement is Pine Island on Lake Murray.[5]
| Park Name | County or Counties | Size | Year Acquired | Year Opened | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| acres | ha | ||||
| Aiken State Park | Aiken | 1,067 | 432 | 1934 | 1936 |
| Andrew Jackson State Park | Lancaster | 360 | 150 | 1953 | 1957 |
| Baker Creek State Park | McCormick | 1,305 | 528 | 1967 | 1968 |
| Barnwell State Park | Barnwell | 307 | 124 | 1937 | 1939 |
| Caesars Head State Park | Greenville | 7,467 | 3,022 | 1976 | 1986 |
| Calhoun Falls State Park | Abbeville | 318 | 129 | 1982 | |
| Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site | Charleston | 184 | 74 | 1970 | 1970 |
| Cheraw State Park | Chesterfield | 7,362 | 2,979 | 1934 | 1939 |
| Chester State Park | Chester | 523 | 212 | 1935 | 1936 |
| Colleton State Park | Colleton | 35 | 14 | 1938 | 1940 |
| Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site | Dorchester | 325 | 132 | 1960 | 1960 |
| Croft State Park | Spartanburg | 7,054 | 2,855 | 1949 | |
| Devils Fork State Park | Oconee | 622 | 252 | 1991 | 1991 |
| Dreher Island State Park | Newberry | 348 | 141 | 1970 | 1970 |
| Edisto Beach State Park | Colleton | 1,255 | 508 | 1935 | 1937 |
| Givhans Ferry State Park | Colleton, Dorchester | 988 | 400 | 1934 | 1937 |
| Goodale State Park | Kershaw | 963 | 390 | 1973 | 1973 |
| H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area | Chesterfield | 7,000 | 2,800 | 1994 | 2006 |
| Hamilton Branch State Park | McCormick | 731 | 296 | 1972 | 1972 |
| Hampton Plantation State Historic Site | Charleston | 300 | 120 | 1972 | |
| Hickory Knob State Resort Park | McCormick | 1,091 | 442 | 1969 | 1973 |
| Hunting Island State Park | Beaufort | 5,000 | 2,000 | 1938 | 1941 |
| Huntington Beach State Park | Georgetown | 2,500 | 1,000 | 1960 | 1962 |
| Jones Gap State Park | Greenville | 3,964 | 1,604 | 1976 | 1985 |
| Keowee-Toxaway State Park | Pickens | 1,000 | 400 | 1970 | 1975 |
| Kings Mountain State Park | Cherokee, York | 6,885 | 2,786 | 1934 | 1936 |
| Lake Greenwood State Park | Greenwood | 914 | 370 | 1938 | 1940 |
| Lake Hartwell State Park | Oconee | 680 | 280 | 1976 | 1985 |
| Lake Warren State Park | Hampton | 440 | 180 | 1980 | 1990 |
| Lake Wateree State Park | Fairfield | 238 | 96 | 1982 | 1985 |
| Landsford Canal State Park | Chester, Lancaster | 448 | 181 | 1970 | 1973 |
| Lee State Park | Lee | 2,839 | 1,149 | 1935 | 1941 |
| Little Pee Dee State Park | Dillon | 835 | 338 | 1951 | 1955 |
| May Forest State Park | Charleston | 23 | 9.3 | 2021 | 2023 |
| Musgrove Mill State Historic Site | Laurens, Spartanburg, Union | 380 | 150 | 1975 | 2003 |
| Myrtle Beach State Park | Horry | 312 | 126 | 1935 | 1936 |
| Oconee State Park | Oconee | 1,165 | 471 | 1935 | 1937 |
| Oconee Station State Historic Site | Oconee | 210 | 85 | 1976 | 1994 |
| Paris Mountain State Park | Greenville | 1,540 | 620 | 1935 | 1937 |
| Poinsett State Park | Sumter | 1,010 | 410 | 1934 | 1936 |
| Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site | Aiken | 350 | 140 | 1973 | 1975 |
| Rivers Bridge State Historic Site | Bamberg | 390 | 160 | 1945 | 1945 |
| Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site | Union | 44 | 18 | 1960 | 1961 |
| Sadlers Creek State Park | Anderson | 395 | 160 | 1966 | 1968 |
| Santee State Park | Orangeburg | 2,500 | 1,000 | 1942 | 1949 |
| Sesquicentennial State Park | Richland | 1,419 | 574 | 1937 | 1940 |
| Table Rock State Park | Pickens | 3,083 | 1,248 | 1935 | 1940 |
| Woods Bay State Park | Clarendon, Florence, Sumter | 1,590 | 640 | 1973 | 1973 |
References
edit- ^ https://www.census.gov/govs/state/0841scst.html SC Government Finances
- ^ "1967 - Present: South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation &". Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013. Park Service History 1967-Present
- ^ "1933 - 1942: South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation &". Archived from the original on August 28, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007. Park Service History 1933-1942
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) South Carolina Facts - ^ Hincks, Leah (March 19, 2023). "SC's smallest state park born from state's biggest business bust". Post and Courier. Retrieved March 20, 2023.