Reedy River Falls

The falls of the Reedy River powered industry, but in the early nineteenth century they were also the town's chief prize. The subject of a Cherokee myth in which a brave was said to have thrown himself over the falls because of unrequited love, and of at least five published poems and several noted paintings, the falls became a favorite trysting place for young lovers as well as a resort for visitors and families. Dams above and below the falls created pools where children swam in the summer and skated in the winter. Ministers performed baptisms in them, and entrepreneurs established bath houses with separate entrances for ladies and gentlemen, with towels and soap supplied for twenty-five cents, that made use of the clear river water.

Greenville, South Carolina · United States