Before the building of the Anderson Swimming Pool
in 1953, There were several places for people of Pacolet to swim. The
main ones are described below.
The Pacolet River -
Many
boys
and
men
swam in the river. A popular spot
was at the "Big Rock" in the company pasture. Swimming in the river was
dangerous. It was deep in places with some strong currents. The water
was muddy and there was almost no visibility. Over the years, there
were several drownings.
Pacolet River - by Jim Cody
Thicketty Creek
- This stream, in Cherokee County was used by many to
swim in. It was much smaller and shallower than the Pacolet River and
not nearly as dangerous. One particularly popular place was beside the
old bridge where Burnt Gin Road (State Road S-11-72) Thicketty
today.
The Creek at Spakes Store
- This spot has already been described on the
page about Brown's Branch. This
creek that ran into Brown's branch was tiny but had been dammed to
provide a fairly large pool to swim in.
Duck Ponds -
There were two of these ponds that were used to provide
water for fire fighting for the village. One was at the top of
Hotel
Hill, just below the school. This is shown in the photo below. The
other was close to the intersection of
Quarry St. and Brewster Street, not too far from the Ball Park. I don't
think that people were supposed to swim in these
ponds but some did. I believe there was a drowning in the pond
next to the school in the early 1940's.
Old Quarry - When work in the the old
quarry was stopped, it filled up with water. It became a place for
folks to swim. It was the site of a multiple drowning in the 1930's.
Rainbow Lake -
This lake was located about 10 miles north of
Spartanburg near Boiling Springs. It had been built as a drinking
water reservoir for Spartanburg during the Depression. Unlike the
places described before, Rainbow Lake had lifeguards and a designated
swimming area. It was a very popular place for groups to picnic and
swim. The lake was closed to swimming in the late 1960's. Many folks
from Pacolet used the lake when it was open.
Cleveland Park -
This
was
a
popular
swimming pool in the city
of Spartanburg. It was closer to Pacolet than Rainbow Lake and more
convenient for swimmers.
Croft State Park -
This was the most popular swimming pool for Pacolet
people before the Anderson Pool was
built. This large pool was built in
part of the former Camp Croft and was only about 6 or 7 miles from
Pacolet.
YMCA - The
Spartanburg YMCA had an inside pool where swimming lessons for
boys were taught and was sometimes could be used for recreational
swimming. The unusual feature about the YMCA pool was that you
had to swim in the nude. Even during swimming lessons, swim suits were
not allowed. The pool supposedly was heated but it did not feel that
way.
