Field Trip Opportunities at the Hagood Mill Historic Site

The Hagood Mill Historic Site in Pickens County is expanding their on-site field trip options and also creating new virtual field trip packages designed for 3rd – 8th grade students. All classes are South Carolina standards-based. SC Humanities supported the development of new field trips with a Major Grant in September 2020.

The mill is the centerpiece of the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center, which also includes historic cabins, a blacksmith shop, a moonshine still, and a cotton gin. The site also includes the South Carolina Petroglyph Site, which preserves significant Native American rock carvings, and the 64-foot (20 m) steel Prater’s Creek Bridge, built by the Greenville Steel and Foundry Company in 1930 and brought to the site in 2007.

In-person one-day field trips can be custom-designed for classes and are led by knowledgeable and experienced artisans. Programs include “Tour of Petroglyph Center,” “Tour and Explanation of Mill,” “Blacksmith Shop,” “Hearthside Cooking,” “Archaeology Adventures,” “Early American Artifacts,” “Weaving/Sewing Demo and Activities,” “Quilting Demo,” “Carving Wood Bowl Demo,” “Broom Making Demo,” “Carving Stone Demo,” “Farming/Gardening,” “Gemology,” “Moonshine Still Tour,” “Reptile Studies,” “Nature Trail,” and “Petting Zoo.”

Additionally, Hagood Mill Historic Site will create four new virtual field trip kits on the topics “Living in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1800s,” “Finding and Identifying Early Appalachian Artifacts,” “Native American Way of Life in the 1800s,” and “Finding and Identifying Native American Artifacts.” The kits will include a short video about the historic site; a PowerPoint with the lesson plan, supply list, worksheets, assessment rubrics, and other items; a choice of one tour, and a choice of one demonstration/how-to video clip. Virtual field trips will begin rolling out in December 2020.

For more information about field trips with Hagood Mill Historic Site, visit their website at https://www.hagoodmillhistoricsite.com/visiting#.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 21-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.