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Thoroughbred Country, a four-county area consisting of Aiken, Allendale,
Bamberg, and Barnwell, got its name from the importance of horses to the
region, both in its agricultural economy and its reputation as a thoroughbred
training center. The largest city in Thoroughbred Country, Aiken, has
produced many high-stakes horse-race winners. The best of the best are
documented in the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame with photos, trophies, and
racing silks. Also included in the museum is information on polo, another
equestrian activity that is very much a part of Aiken's culture.
The Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame is located in Hopeland Gardens, the
gardens to a former Winter Colony estate in downtown Aiken. The city once
was famous as a healthful resort for wealthy Northerners who built "cottages,"
or magnificent summer homes. Hopeland Gardens contains beautiful traditional
gardens, the Hall of Fame in the former stables, a wetlands garden, an
open-air stage, and a fountain at the former foundation of the house. Another
of the Winter Colony "cottages" now houses the Aiken County Historical Museum.
Because many of the other Winter Colony homes are still privately-owned, one
of the best ways to learn of Aiken's history and equestrian lifestyle is to
take a tour with Aiken Tours on a Saturday morning. These tours are arranged
through the Aiken Chamber of Commerce.
Just outside of Aiken are two treasures -- to the west is Redcliffe Plantation
State Park, the home of James Hammond, former governor of South Carolina, and
to the east is Montmorenci Vineyards, which offers wine tastings of its many
award-winning wines made from their own home-grown grapes.
Thoroughbred Country is also an integral part of the new South Carolina
Heritage Corridor, which spans fourteen counties on the western side of South
Carolina. One of the regional Discovery Centers is the Agricultural Heritage
Center in Blackville, slated to open in 1998. This center will offer a look
at the influences of and to agriculture in the history of the state as well
as the South as a whole. Blackville also features an active Mennonite
community, and Miller's Bread Basket Restaurant is owned and operated by one
of these families. Just outside of Blackville is Healing Springs, whose
waters are reputed to cure all types of maladies. In nearby Barnwell can be
found the beautiful Church of the Holy Apostles, which once acted as a stable
for Sherman's horses as he marched through South Carolina, and the mysterious
Vertical Sundial at the city's downtown Circle.
Continuing further south you will find the quaint small towns of Bamberg
County. Olar and Ehrhardt will take you back to yesteryear with old-fashioned
general stores and antiques dealers. Nearby is Rivers Bridge State Park, the
only state park to commemorate the Confederacy and the site of a major
resistance to Sherman's march through South Carolina. The town of Denmark is
a full shopping destination featuring an antique store in a historic AT&T
building, an old-time five-and-dime, a hardware store that is truly a
modern-day general store, and the art gallery of nationally renowned Jim
Harrison, all within a two-block stretch of the main street.
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