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I've been pondering doing a family tour of quaint towns in NC and SC. Specifically, I am looking for places with the small town atmosphere...a modern-day Mayberry, so to speak.
Try Aiken...........I swear I have been looking for Wally and the Beaver since I have moved here 9 years ago. We have a BEAUTIFUL Downtown area with everything from simple southern shops to a great sushi place! (I was just in Hawaii and paid big $$ for sushi and my little ol' southern town still had better!) Aiken is also a big horse community so most weekends you can find some type of horse event going on. (polo, jumping shows, etc.) The town is also built around 2000 acres of maintained woods and trails that are well marked for everyone enjoyment. You can google Hitchcock woods and download the map before your arrival. (It will also give you the history and rules for the woods) There are plenty of lovely places to stay either in the donwtown area (historical area) OR save a few bucks and stay in a chain hotel located on Whiskey road which is at most 5 minutes from downtown. You could arrive here on a Friday night, have a nice relaxing Saturday doing downtown stuff, and take a hike Sunday morning and leave after lunch. Hope this helps. (oh, and no I do not work for the City--just a girl who loves her town)
Aiken is definitely not a modern day Mayberry though.
I would recommend checking out all of the towns between Anderson, Greenwood, and Edgefield counties. There are many that I love for their old, authentic, small town southern charm. Favorites include, Abbeville, Ninety Six (just east of Greenwood), Due West, Honea Path, Williamston, and Pelzer-West Pelzer, among others.
Hi SCYOGI, just bought a house in Aiken. Will be there part time, until my house sells. I have been in Aiken about 5 times, loved your city. Thats why we are moving there with our horses. Would love some more info about the city. What would you suggest for "newbies"? We are retired. Thank You
Any downtown dining is great. Always pop in the Art Center when you have a chance. Also check out the classes they offer. (full disclosure--I am biased because I do work there) THey offer everything from Bridge (guys are welcome in that group) pottery, to yoga. It does not take long to fall in love with this Mayberry town. (wink, wink Skyliner)
Aiken, Camden, Chester (has a pretty nice downtown)
So nice to see Chester in there! Chester redid the downtown area when the TV miniseries "Chiefs" was filmed there back in, I believe, 1983. Our house was actually across the street from the house used in the film as Tess Harper's house, so the crews set up in our yard. I still remember seeing Tess Harper talking on the phone in my kitchen...
Chester has had it really rough since all the Springs cotton mills closed, though. It is trying hard to reinvent itself. I was home this past Christmas, and it really looked dead. Also Chester had a fire there about that time, and one of the old historic buildings in town burned to the ground. I don't know what they will replace it with; it was on top of the "hill" too.
I would love to see someone with a great new industry come in to help the citizens recover from the loss of the cotton mills.
Billy Graham's nephew just announced that he was planning to build a new place down in the Richburg area of Chester County (I think he is calling it Montrose Plantation) that will have 3000 homes, doctors' offices, etc. It has been interesting to "watch" via my local hometown paper that I have mailed to me every week.
In SC; Newberry, Camden, Conway, Georgetown, Beauford
In NC; Mt. Airy (the real model for Mayberry), Southern Pines, Brevard, Elizabeth City, Southport (near Wilmington)
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