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During most of its life, the Hagood Mill was a busy center of commerce. The Products of Industry Census records Hagood Mill as having produced 2,500 bushels of meal (140,000 pounds) and 200 bushels of flours (11,200 pounds) in the year 1870.
For many years, the Hagood Mill and store were the gathering place where locals would meet to discuss topics such as politics, crops, the weather and other local activities. For many generations, the mill and store remained a center for rural families and friends.
Occupational, Craft and Architectural Traditions
The Hagood Mill is one of the oldest known surviving gristmills still producing grain products in South Carolina.
The Mill is located on Hagood Creek, formerly known as Jennings Creek, a tributary of Twelve Mile River. The last dam site is 1,650 feet from the mill, where water from the creek was originally diverted to the mill in an earthen headrace (ditch). Today water is pumped from the creek up to the headrace. The last 80 feet of the rate is made of wood. The wooden water wheel, 20 feet in diameter and 4 feet wide, produced 22 horsepower. The wheel and the mechanical components of the mill were rebuilt in the mid-1970s using as many original parts as possible. Restoration work continued in the mid-1980s and again in the mid-1990s. The ring gear is 18 feet in diameter and the two granite millstones weigh approximately 1,600 pounds each. At this site, traditional art and folkways of the people of Pickens County are presented: including the livelihoods and professions that Pickens County men and women used to support their families. Generations of farmers, loggers, millers, wood carvers, and other fine craftspeople as well as railroad, textile, and other workers have contributed to this unique sense of place and culture.
Folklore and Folkways
The Hagood Mill site if the home of Pickens County's "Upcountry Folklife Festival & Old Time Fiddlin' Convention." This celebration of music, food, traditional arts and living history takes place every September.
Additional, the third Saturday of every month the site plays host to mini-events that, in addition to the mill operations, feature a variety of music, traditional food, living history performance, traditional arts, and folklife presentations.
The musical heritage of the region, like the visual arts of the region, reflects the culture - the people, places and things - that have for generations defined "what and who we are." Ongoing programming at the Hagood Mill takes advantage of the varied traditions of the region to interpret the culture of the region as well to entertain.
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Leisure and Recreation
The Hagood Mill with the Pickens County Museum, under the guidance of the Pickens County Cultural Commission, are actively engaged in contemporary tourism as a means of economic development for the county. One goal of this institution is to see that such development is carried out in a responsible manner and is able to entertain those with interest based in heritage, natural resource and cultural-based tourism while continuing to offer the same varieties of informative and entertaining programming for the local populace.
Cultural-Based Recreation
Hagood Mill will be a significant Upcountry destination for heritage and folklife tourism. The success of the site as a revenue-producing attraction will provide benefits to the educational programming of the Pickens County Museum System as well as the School District of Pickens County, supporting the teaching of South Carolina History. The numerous pre-historic petroglyphs at this site will be part of the new "Petroglyph and Pictograph Interpretive Center." that will be in important resource to teach about the pre-historic cultures that abounded the Upcountry and are represented by the numerous works of rock art, carvings and case painting discovered throughout the foothills of this region.
The diversity of cultural-based programming at Hagood Mill is designed to appeal to a wide audience - ranging from the "average" tourist to visiting specialists that are already highly knowledgeable about local history and pre-history. The goal of this site is to provide enlightenment, entertainment and knowledge; providing "something" of real interest to local residents as well as those that are "touring" the region.
Trails
The Old Mill Race Nature Trail partially followed the flow of the original millrace. General trail cutting and brush clearing has taken place, and several rest areas have been built. Plants and trees have been identified for upcoming signage and a sturdy covered footbridge crossing Hagood Branch is completed. Future developments along the trail is intended to reflect the native Cherokee culture. All identification of local flora will feature the Cherokee name along with the Native American uses for that plant. Additionally, plans for the trail include a pre-contact homesite, complete with a Cherokee winter home, summer home, simple sweat lodge and a Cherokee garden.
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