Poinsett State Park
Encyclopedia
Poinsett State Park is located in Sumter County in the U.S. state of South Carolina
. The park is best known for its botanical oddities, combining the flora
of the Blue Ridge Mountains
foothills and Piedmont
of Upstate South Carolina, the xeric Sandhills
and the Atlantic coastal plain
. In Poinsett State Park one can see mountain laurels draped with Spanish moss
. The park, which has been called "weird and beautiful", is named after amateur botanist and South Carolina native Joel Roberts Poinsett
, the first American ambassador to Mexico and popularizer of the poinsettia
. There is no charge for admission to Poinsett State Park, but there are small fees for parking and renting cabins. The park is surrounded by the Manchester State Forest, and both provide linked hiking, bicycling and equestrian trails.
and descending to the Wateree Swamp, the site was used by various Siouan
tribes of Native Americans
, including the Santee
, Wateree and Catawba, primarily for hunting. The non-Siouan Congaree lived nearby and may have also frequented the area.
Before the American Revolution
, the land was owned by a man named Levi, who built a dam to impound water for rice cultivation. Levi's Mill Pond was later used to power a mill. Remnants of the mill are still present, and the pond, improved by the Civilian Conservation Corps
, is now known as Old Levi Mill Pond. In 1813 and 1814 the land was deeded to two members of the Singleton family, who owned many plantations in Sumter County. The best remembered Singleton today, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, was First Lady of the United States.
Sumter County donated 1000 acres (4 km²) for the park, which opened to the public in 1936. Many buildings still in use at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from locally quarried coquina rock. Coquina
is a young limestone in which fossil seashells are still readily apparent. Poinsett State Park was the first of many parks built by the CCC in South Carolina. The park was closed in 1963 for a year, along with all of South Carolina's state parks, due to a Federal court order to desegregate the parks, and it wasn't until 1966 that all its facilities were reopened.
), white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Q. velutina), turkey oak (Q. laevis), water oak (Q. nigra), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), longleaf pine (P. palustris), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), American holly (Ilex opaca), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), baldcypress (Taxodium distichum
), swamp gum (Nyssa biflora), water tupelo (N. aquatica), and red maple (Acer rubrum).
Many species of animals can be found in the park, including copperhead snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix
), cottonmouth snakes (A. piscivorus
), American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), and bobcats (Lynx rufus), but these are rarely observed. Animals more typically encountered by visitors include golden silk orb-weaver spiders (Nephila clavipes
), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), river frogs (Rana heckscheri), spring peeper treefrogs (Pseudacris crucifer), Carolina anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis), five-lined skinks (Eumeces fasciatus), yellow-bellied slider turtles (Trachemys scripta scripta), banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata
), coachwhip snakes (Masticophis flagellum
), eastern hognose snakes (Heterodon platirhinos), Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii), great egrets (Ardea alba), wood ducks (Aix sponsa), turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), belted kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon), red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), blue-gray gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea), and prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea).
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The park is best known for its botanical oddities, combining the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
foothills and Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
of Upstate South Carolina, the xeric Sandhills
Sandhills (Carolina)
The Sandhills is a region in the interior of the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina. It is a strip of ancient beach dunes which generally divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain, and is the evidence of a former coastline when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower. The...
and the Atlantic coastal plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
. In Poinsett State Park one can see mountain laurels draped with Spanish moss
Spanish Moss
Spanish moss is a flowering plant that grows upon larger trees, commonly the Southern Live Oak or Bald Cypress in the southeastern United States....
. The park, which has been called "weird and beautiful", is named after amateur botanist and South Carolina native Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett was a physician, botanist and American statesman. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, the first United States Minister to Mexico , a U.S...
, the first American ambassador to Mexico and popularizer of the poinsettia
Poinsettia
Euphorbia pulcherrima, commonly known as Zack Wood or noche buena, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Mexico and Central America. The name "poinsettia" is after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the US in 1825...
. There is no charge for admission to Poinsett State Park, but there are small fees for parking and renting cabins. The park is surrounded by the Manchester State Forest, and both provide linked hiking, bicycling and equestrian trails.
History
Located on the High Hills of SanteeHigh Hills of Santee
The High Hills of Santee, sometimes known as the High Hills of the Santee, is a long, narrow hilly region in the western part of Sumter County, South Carolina. It has been called "one of the state's most famous areas". The High Hills of Santee region lies north of the Santee River and east of the...
and descending to the Wateree Swamp, the site was used by various Siouan
Siouan languages
The Western Siouan languages, also called Siouan proper or simply Siouan, are a Native American language family of North America, and the second largest indigenous language family in North America, after Algonquian...
tribes of Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, including the Santee
Santee tribe
The Santee Indian Organization, a remnant tribe, was officially recognized by the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs, January 27, 2006. Historically it was a small tribe , speaking a Siouan language and centered in the area of the present town of Santee, South Carolina...
, Wateree and Catawba, primarily for hunting. The non-Siouan Congaree lived nearby and may have also frequented the area.
Before the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the land was owned by a man named Levi, who built a dam to impound water for rice cultivation. Levi's Mill Pond was later used to power a mill. Remnants of the mill are still present, and the pond, improved by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
, is now known as Old Levi Mill Pond. In 1813 and 1814 the land was deeded to two members of the Singleton family, who owned many plantations in Sumter County. The best remembered Singleton today, Angelica Singleton Van Buren, was First Lady of the United States.
Sumter County donated 1000 acres (4 km²) for the park, which opened to the public in 1936. Many buildings still in use at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from locally quarried coquina rock. Coquina
Coquina
Coquina is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of either molluscs, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the average size of the...
is a young limestone in which fossil seashells are still readily apparent. Poinsett State Park was the first of many parks built by the CCC in South Carolina. The park was closed in 1963 for a year, along with all of South Carolina's state parks, due to a Federal court order to desegregate the parks, and it wasn't until 1966 that all its facilities were reopened.
Fauna and flora
Surveys have found 337 species of flowering plants within the park, including 65 species of trees and shrubs. Tree species include mountain laurel (Kalmia latifoliaKalmia latifolia
Kalmia latifolia, commonly called Mountain-laurel or Spoonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the blueberry family, Ericaceae, that is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain-laurel is...
), white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Q. velutina), turkey oak (Q. laevis), water oak (Q. nigra), pignut hickory (Carya glabra), loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), longleaf pine (P. palustris), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), wax myrtle (Morella cerifera), American holly (Ilex opaca), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), baldcypress (Taxodium distichum
Taxodium distichum
Taxodium distichum is a species of conifer native to the southeastern United States.-Characteristics:...
), swamp gum (Nyssa biflora), water tupelo (N. aquatica), and red maple (Acer rubrum).
Many species of animals can be found in the park, including copperhead snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake found in North America, a member of the Crotalinae subfamily. The more common name for the species is "copperhead". The behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans...
), cottonmouth snakes (A. piscivorus
Agkistrodon piscivorus
Agkistrodon piscivorus is a venomous snake, a species of pit viper, found in the southeastern United States. Adults are large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When antagonized they will stand their ground by coiling their bodies and displaying their fangs...
), American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), and bobcats (Lynx rufus), but these are rarely observed. Animals more typically encountered by visitors include golden silk orb-weaver spiders (Nephila clavipes
Nephila clavipes
Nephila clavipes is a species of golden orb-web spider. It lives in the warmer regions of the Americas. The large size and bright colours of the species make it distinctive...
), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), river frogs (Rana heckscheri), spring peeper treefrogs (Pseudacris crucifer), Carolina anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis), five-lined skinks (Eumeces fasciatus), yellow-bellied slider turtles (Trachemys scripta scripta), banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata
Nerodia fasciata
The banded water snake or Southern water snake is a species of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous, colubrid snake found in the central and southeastern United States, from Indiana, south to Texas and east to Florida.-Description:...
), coachwhip snakes (Masticophis flagellum
Masticophis flagellum
Masticophis flagellum is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as coachwhips or whip snakes, with seven recognized subspecies.- Geographical range :...
), eastern hognose snakes (Heterodon platirhinos), Rafinesque's big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii), great egrets (Ardea alba), wood ducks (Aix sponsa), turkey vultures (Cathartes aura), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), belted kingfishers (Ceryle alcyon), red-bellied woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), blue-gray gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea), and prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea).