By admin 
The state of South Carolina has bought 106 acres of mountain land along S.C. 11, a scenic highway at the foot of the southern Appalachians, to protect the forested property from future development.
Read more New arrest made over threats to kill, cut up witness in Nolan Wells’ investigation
The state recently approved $495,000 for the acquisition near Eastatoee Creek in Pickens County. South Carolina is getting the acreage from the Naturaland Trust, a conservation group that acquires and holds property, then provides it to the state for long-term protection.
The acquisition will preserve views along S.C. 11 by limiting development, according to a document presented last week to the S.C. Joint Bond Review Committee. Trails also could be established there, the document said. The land is in the Jocassee Gorges area of the state’s Appalachian mountains northwest of Greenville.
The bond committee signed off on the acquisition during a meeting last week in Columbia. Records show the state paid about half of the appraised value of more than $1 million for the land.
Mac Stone, director of the Naturaland Trust, said the state acquisition will add to about four miles of protected frontage along S.C. 11 in the Eastatoee Creek area of Pickens County.
“This is a really important stretch of Highway 11, and it was a fairly big holding overlooking Eastatoee Creek,” Stone said, noting that the property contains granite outcrops and prime habitat for green salamanders and other wildlife.
Read more Doctor whose wife is at center of Trump-Epstein claims flees Miami before trial
Stone said the property was not included in the Jocassee Gorges deal nearly 30 years ago. The state acquired more than 32,000 acres of mountain land in 1997 from Duke Energy, creating the Jocassee nature preserve that today includes the state’s highest peak, Sassafras Mountain.
“We’re always looking at property that helps protect the scenic value of the highway,’’ Stone said. “This is one of those big ones.’’
Land records show the 106 acres was owned by Crescent Resources, an arm of Duke Energy, until 2004, when it was sold to His Way LLC of Seneca. His Way sold the land to the Naturaland Trust for $935,000 in 2024, according to Pickens County real estate records. Stone said the trust received a grant from the S.C. Conservation Bank to help acquire the land until the tract could be transferred to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
S.C. 11 is a designated scenic highway that runs through the mountains of Greenville, Pickens and Oconee counties. Table Rock and Devil’s Fork state parks are off S.C. 11, as is Poe Creek State Forest. The two-lane highway, which crosses Lake Keowee, has little development and is a popular area in the fall for visitors to view autumn foliage.
The stretch being protected at Eastatoee Creek is near the Eastatoee Valley, an area of privately owned land surrounded by mountains that has in the past been targeted for development.
Read more From pizza to USC gear, here are 10 projects shaking up Columbia’s BullStreet