Landsford Canal State Park

Landsford Canal State Park is located in Chester County, South Carolina. The part consists of 448 acres and includes the ruins of the Landsford Canal. Besides the canal, there are the largest remaining stands of the Shoals Spider Lily. The Spider Lily blooms from mid-May to mid-June.

There are also hiking trails in the park. There is the Canal Trail which follows the Landsford Canal. It is 1.5 MI. There is also a half-mile nature trail that goes along the Catawba River. You can see the Shoals Spider Lily from this Trail.

Utilizing slave labor, the canal was constructed to circumvent the rapids of the Catawba River. The canal was abandoned when the railroad became the better way to transport goods. There is an interpretive Museum in the former lockkeeper’s house. The canal was one of the best-preserved canals of the nineteenth century, and parts of its major structural features have been preserved. It was constructed from 1820 to 1835.

Land’s Ford Is also associated with the Revolutionary War. Thomas Sumter’s troops crossed here on their route to the Battle of Hanging Rock. The main British Army crossed the Catawba here in 1780.

I have been to this park to see the canals and the lilies. It is well worth going to visit!