This Abandoned Natural Spring In South Carolina Is Just Begging To Be Visited
Countless abandoned places dot the landscape throughout South Carolina, each one offering a little glimpse into the past. And the following abandoned spring house in Taylors is no different. The white building seen below is a holdover from a bygone era in which the wealthy and the sick would congregate here beginning in the mid-1800s in hopes of curing ailments and more.
Seen here, the Spring House at Chick Springs Resort was one of the main reasons people from all over would visit the booming resort (now gone) built around the mineral spring.
The first hotel at the resort opened in 1840. From that point forward, the resort was known to be a summer haven, filled with people seeking summer vacations as much filled with fellowship as the healing waters of the spring. The first three renditions of the resort hotel burned; the fourth (shown here) was opened in 1914, and eventually closed its doors due to The Great Depression.
The community of Taylors, a suburb of Greenville, has grown up all around the former 100-plus-acre resort and all that remains sits alongside a tiny road in a wooded area in the heart of the suburban sprawl.
From Dan Bull Road, named for the Bull family, one of the successive owners of Chick Springs Resort, visitors can still access the property where the abandoned Chick Springs Park sits. The once lively park is now empty and eerily devoid of the laughter and droves of Chick Springs Resort guests that used to frolic here.
Through a wire-covered window designed to keep wildlife from destroying the property, visitors can see into the old building. The spring's water still flows through a pipe inserted long ago.
In 2008, a historic preservation group launched an effort to restore the spring and this abandoned gem of a park so that all may enjoy, but efforts to do so have yet to show signs of success.
It’s located on private property, so visiting will be at your own risk. It’s located on Dan Bull Road, just a stone’s through from busy Wade Hampton Boulevard (SC-29) just outside of Greenville. Here’s a link to the Google Map location.
Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
