♪ (male singer) ♪ Oh, I have found the sweetest place ♪ ♪ where people smile and know my name.

♪ ♪ Oh, I have found the sweetest land ♪ ♪ as warm as sun and cool as rain.

♪ ♪ A place so faaarrr... from all we had, ♪ ♪ a place so far from all we've known, ♪ ♪ a quiet place that we can love ♪ ♪ and call our home.

♪♪ ♪ (Joanna Angle) This town is unique in South Carolina, both in its siting and economic development.

Its distinctive hillside perch is reminiscent of the medieval villages of Europe.

The creation of its commercial hub during the era of South Carolina's greatest calamity is equally remarkable.

Settled around 1750 when farmers from Pennsylvania came searching for good grazing land for their cattle, this city on the hill still bears the name of its Pennsylvanian and English inspirations.

Welcome to Chester, and to "Palmetto Places," a series that explores and celebrates South Carolina's small towns and countryside.

I'm Joanna Angle.

Few towns in the South have Chester's dramatic topography.

Here at 550 feet above sea level is the high point between the drainage basins for the Broad and Catawba Rivers.

This area once served as a buffer zone between the powerful Catawba Indian tribe and the Cherokee Nation, which extended from the mountains to the Broad River.

What began as Indian trading post later became a major center of commerce when the railroad arrived in August 1851.

Chester's role as a vital hub of rail transport during the War Between the States was chronicled by Mary Boykin Chestnut in her "Diary from Dixie," part of which was written here.

[no audio] March 27, 1865... "Now I am looking from my window high, "to something more to see than the sky.

"We have the third story of Dr. Da Vega's rooms, "and it opens on the straight street that leads to the railroad, about a mile off."

Later, as some of the 1900 Chester men marched to the trains that day... "There they go, the gay and gallant few, "doomed, the last gathering of the flower of Southern youth to be killed, to death, or worse."

[no audio] March 29, 1865... "I have a charming lookout "from my window high.

"My world is now divided... where Yankees are and where Yankees are not."

[no audio] April 15, 1865... "What a week it has been.

"Madness, sadness, anxiety, "turmoil, ceaseless excitement.

"There was a money train, 70 boxes of specie.

"It had been saved from the Yankees before it got here.

"There was no money on the money train.

"Mrs. Davis came.

"We went down to the cars at daylight to receive her.

"She dined with me.

Lovely, little Pie Cake, the baby, came too."

May 1, 1865... "Night and day this landing and these steps are crowded "with the elite of the Confederacy, going and coming.

"And when night comes, or rather, bedtime, "more beds are made on the floor of the landing place "for the war-worn soldiers to rest upon.

"The whole house is a bivouac.

"In Chester still, I climb these steep steps alone."

[no audio] In February 1865, General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, under orders from General William T. Sherman, destroyed Chester railroad tracks and telegraph system.

In 1986, less than 75 yards from those tracks, four Civil War cannon, carefully stacked like cordwood, were unearthed by a backhoe operator.

It is conjectured that fleeing Confederate troops carried the cannon as far as Chester and then disarmed and disposed of them.

Known as the 10-pound Parrott Confederate field rifle, this was the most formidable service gun of its day.

Parrott guns were at the Battle of First Manassas and in every important engagement thereafter.

Between 1870 and 1920, Chester's commercial center flourished, and the hill became a handsome mixture of varied compatible styles.

Artisans of many trades displayed their talents in embellishing the structures, which remain sound and basically unchanged, making Chester a moviemakers' mecca.

[no audio] In September 1897, a New York City man felt compelled to write a letter to "The Reporter."

"My son thinks that Chester is one of the liveliest places "he knows of of its size in the South, "and says you have got a lot of "get up and get and push in you.

"There was not much that escaped his notice, and he has spoken several times to me of your fine stores."

Despite a dusty era of business decline, neglect, and exodus to the perimeter strip malls, Chester is once again showing its "git up and git."

Ten years in the making, Chester's downtown turnaround has become a model for Small Town, U.S.A. A recent $1.8 million streetscape revitalization project has further enhanced the town's timeless charm.

Wiring and utilities have disappeared underground, improved lighting beams from personalized lampposts.

Parks and plazas invite residents and visitors to linger.

While streets and sidewalks were dug up, this 19th-century cistern was uncovered.

More than 13 feet deep and 22 feet in diameter, this cistern and several others throughout the town were used for water storage to fight fires until a water system was installed just before the turn of the century.

Rainwater was collected from the rooftops and gutters of nearby buildings and channeled into the cistern through a series of underground pipes.

Another of the hill's conversation pieces is this rock, which commemorates the 1807 visit by Aaron Burr, former Vice President of the United States.

Believed to be conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government and establish his own empire in part of Texas, Burr had been arrested in Mississippi and was being escorted to Richmond to stand trial for treason.

Riding into Chester on horseback, surrounded by six soldiers, Burr suddenly flung himself upon this rock, shouting to the astonished citizens to rescue him from his captors.

His pleas were in vain.

The officers forced him to remount, and they rode toward Lewis Turnout where the famous prisoner spent the night on a bench in John Lewis's tavern.

The next morning the party proceeded toward Richmond and the trial, which created a national sensation.

Aaron Burr was found not guilty on the basis of the evidence presented, a vague ruling by John Marshall which left some doubt as to Burr's innocence.

The bench that served as Burr's bed can be seen in the Chester County Historical Society Museum, housed in the county's 1914 jail.

Other local artifacts include one of the largest collections of Native American projectile points in South Carolina.

[no audio] A half block away, pass through the Merita Bread screen doors and meet Lester Clark, caner of chairs and dispenser of wisdom.

(Lester Clark) I started when I was about 10 years old, and I'm 75 now.

And at that time, my dad was gettin' two dollars and a half for a bottom, and he was givin' me 50 cents.

So, uh, I worked pretty hard to make that 50 cents.

And, uh, now... you don't come out for less than $50 on a chair.

So... at that time, I thought it was pretty bad, because the rest of the young fellas was out playin', and I was havin' to cane chairs.

So, uh, it was something that, uh... lasted me a lifetime, and, uh... so I've been doin' it ever since.

And one thing about it, you've got to... enjoy it.

You either like it, or you don't.

It's no in-between.

This type chair that's done by hand... goes back many a year.

It, uh, here, about 65 years ago, they started to... do the... machine-woven stuff.

And, uh, so... anything with the holes in it is usually over... 65 years old.

At one time I could put one of these in... in eight hours, but now, I may work on it a week, 'cause I just work when the spirit moves me.

And the spirit don't move me all the time.

So I come in, and I work.

And I tell people when they bring 'em that I don't know when I'll have it, but I'll give 'em a call.

But, anyway, I'm havin' fun, so...and I would rather... teach somebody than to do it myself.

It's a lot of people that can do it.

In fact, I expect I have taught over 200.

I had one lady that I taught when I was teaching night classes.

And she came in awhile back, and she said, "I need some cane.

I got to re-cane my chair."

I said, "Lord, that didn't last long."

She said, "Twenty years."

[chuckling] And I got to thinkin', I retired from the school system in 1982, so she was right.

I remember... one time it was gettin' close to Christmas, and I was out for... school holidays.

And my dad had plenty of chairs to cane.

I didn't go to bed.

I worked all night long on... chair bottoms.

I was wantin' the money for Christmas.

My mother came in the next morning and preached me a sermon about the almighty dollar.

I was after that 50 cents a chair bottom.

[chuckling] It brings back a lot of memories, and, uh, so, and...it's a good way to pass the time away.

And you meet people... from every state in the Union.

They come in here, and, uh, so... that's the joy you get out of it.

You get a lot of joy.

[no audio] [birds chirping] (Angle) Across the street, buttressed by the miniature cathedral, Saint Mark's Episcopal Church was designed by the celebrated Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan and originally served as a house of worship for Presbyterians.

The "Chester Reporter" of March 27, 1879, said this about the newly completed building... "This new church edifice is of striking neatness and beauty.

"Its architecture is of the Gothic style.

"This pretty, little church is an ornament to the town "and is a monument to the zeal, perseverance, and munificence of the congregation."

The stained glass window over the altar was installed in 1945.

[no audio] The magic of stained glass artistry is skillfully executed by county native David Oneppo.

[no audio] (David Oneppo) What draws me is the way light comes through colors of each piece.

And it's such an old and lost art.

The history of stained glass goes back, as far as I know, is to the Middle Ages.

The processes are pretty much the same since those times, except we have a... we use an electric soldering iron instead of ones they put in fire.

They used to make their glass, and now you buy your glass from suppliers.

I was an art major at Winthrop College.

And, um...

I was doing artwork for a firm that does glass, and just hanging around, I just picked it up, watching people.

And over the years of, uh... you learn so much from other people, different techniques.

I get my designs from usually talking with a client and finding out what suits your home.

Unless it's a traditional or a Victorian or modern, you, uh, go from what the client likes and what will go with their home.

The colors I like to use...

I like to use the, um, more of the transparent-type glasses instead of, uh... instead of the opalescents that are more-- the opal, excuse me, that go in churches.

For some reason, I like the more transparent-type glasses.

I do my own sketches.

And I do get ideas from older homes or churches, but I mainly try to keep it as original as possible.

But you're limited sometimes in certain cuts you can't get in glass.

You have to pretty much stick to certain, um... certain designs to an extent.

I do it freehand, um... sometimes you use patterns.

You draw patterns and cut 'em.

You use a pattern to cut your glass.

Or if it's a transparent-type glass like these, I'll just lay them over my design and just trace over them with a pen or a pencil, and you just go over the design with a cutter.

The cutting of glass hasn't changed much over the years.

I just use a, um... the old style cutter.

You can get 'em oil-filled, uh, cutters.

But I use the old style, and it's pretty simple.

If you want to cut a curve, you just... cut a curve.

It takes practice, but it's simple.

You just pop it like that.

The piece I'm working on now is a, uh... is going into a sectional window in a home.

And it's gonna be actually eight sections of a design that, when it gets all together, it'll look like one large window instead of eight small windows.

And they still use lead.

This is lead cane like they've been using... since the Middle Ages probably.

Joining them together, you put the lead around it.

The lead's real soft.

It goes right around your glass like so.

And you piece it in like that.

Everywhere it joins, every joint, you're gonna have a solder.

You're gonna have to solder every piece of that.

The first piece I ever did was...

I did a Indian head for an old metal frame globe on an old gas pump.

I found the globe, and it was in good shape.

I wanted something in it.

I incorporated stained glass and put a light behind it.

I have so many favorite pieces.

I did one for a home in Chester.

I did a 6-foot-diameter magnolia for a home in Chester.

That's one of my favorite pieces because it was so large... a challenge to move more than building it.

I did one window with a, um, old jar cap off an old vinegar jar in the middle.

You're really unlimited with glass.

As long as you wrap it in lead, you can use any type... piece of glass or pottery or a dish.

I've even seen people use seashells and incorporate 'em in a stained glass window.

The ultimate piece would be Tiffany style.

Some of his work was unbelievable.

I saw some in a museum in New York, and I couldn't believe it.

He made his own glass to go with clouds or water.

He would... he made everything.

That would be my ultimate... to have the time and money to make a big piece like Tiffany.

I don't know if I could, but I'd try.

[no audio] (Angle) Chester County is home to two great South Carolina state parks.

Three miles west of downtown, Chester State Park covers hilly woodlands dotted with campsites, picnic areas, and nature trails.

Boats may be rented for exploring the 160-acre fishing lake.

[no audio] The name Landsford derives from Thomas Land, who established a store near an ancient ford across the Catawba River in 1754.

It is believed that during the American Revolution General Thomas Sumter used this location as a campsite and a meeting place.

Cornwallis is thought to have crossed the river here as he marched from Charlotte to Winnsboro.

Today, Landsford is part of a 222-acre South Carolina state park with a nature trail along the old canal.

There is a picnic area with shelter, an antique log building that can be rented, a playground, and river fishing.

One special feature is life-size tree carvings by South Carolina artist James "Smiley" Small.

Native Americans utilized the Catawba-Wateree River system as their major route of travel throughout the eastern Piedmont.

Later, these waterways became avenues of commerce for the Chester District farmers whose rich soil kept producing more and more cotton.

During the 1820s, the architect Robert Mills designed a series of four canals on these rivers with the hope they would expedite shipment of farm goods to Charleston and the Atlantic Coast.

The canals, meant to lift and lower barges past the river's white-water rapids, were part of a grand dream to connect the East Coast to the Mississippi by water.

The canal at Landsford is the uppermost and best preserved of those four constructed between 1820 and 1835.

Work began here in 1819 after the state of South Carolina appropriated $1 million for the project.

Joel Poinsett, president of the newly created Board of Public Works, was in charge of construction.

The contractor was a Scotsman named Robert Leckie, whose other works include the courthouse at York and the walls of the botanic gardens in Washington, D.C.

When Leckie reported the canal completed in 1823, it included the construction of a guard, four lifting locks, six culverts, six waste weirs, and one wooden and one stone bridge.

Each of the five locks were built from giant granite blocks, some weighing up to a ton.

Mills, in a report of 1825, described the canal as being "two miles long and designed to overcome a 32-foot fall in the Catawba River."

All of Landsford Canal's major structural features are intact.

Unfortunately, the canal system was obsolete even as it was being completed.

Railroads were much faster than flatboats, and the canals were eventually abandoned.

Landsford Canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This building, which now holds exhibits about the canal and its surroundings, was built in the 1820s as a lockkeeper's house.

It stood at the canal near Great Falls.

In 1973 it was moved and reconstructed here.

This is the last lockkeeper's house still standing in South Carolina.

The river's rocky shoals, which the canal was built to bypass, are home to one of the world's largest populations of rocky shoal spider lilies.

Considered a threatened species, the rocky shoal spider lily, or Hymenocallis coronaria-- "beautiful membrane crown"-- grows wild on rivers in a line across middle South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Early explorers wrote of vast clumps of these fragrant, snowy-white flowers that seem to rise by magic above the shallow water.

They favor large rocks, full sunlight, and clear, swift-flowing water, thriving where few other plants could survive.

The rocks, which point upstream, trap the bulbs, which then root in the gravelly base.

These lilies have 3-inch blooms of six petals.

There can be six to nine blooms on a stalk.

The stalk offers a perfect blossom one day at a time.

These flowers, which belong to the amaryllis family, bloom in profusion from mid-May to mid-June.

This plant occurs in a very specific, rare habitat.

Any changes in the river's natural flow would threaten the lily.

[water gurgling] We're glad you could visit with us in Chester County, and hope you'll join us again for "Palmetto Places."

Until then, I'm Joanna Angle, inviting you to discover South Carolina... smiling faces, beautiful places.

♪ Program captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning, Inc. 803.988.8438 ♪ (female singer) ♪ And here we live, ♪ ♪ within this land ♪ ♪ of mountains' edge and ocean's shore.

♪ ♪ A land of strength... a land of grace... ♪ ♪ of men and women gone before.

♪ ♪ So many smiling faces here, ♪ ♪ so many memories still to come.

♪ ♪ Beautiful places we hold dear ♪ ♪ in this our home.

♪ (choir joins) ♪ South Carolina, always near... ♪ ♪ and always hooommmme.... ♪♪ ♪