TRENTON -- Edgefield County is on track to have a new tourist attraction in place in a couple of months, through the creativity, manpower and other support of Titan Farms.
"Agritourism" is to be the focal point at Sara's Farm Adventure, at 130 Greenhouse Road, and the idea is to provide a hands-on, family-friendly reminder of agriculture's importance in South Carolina.
The grand opening is set for Sept. 19, and promotional material includes an invitation to "make lasting memories with your family and friends," in an environment that includes pumpkins, flowers, apples, "birthday barns," food trucks, pig races, duck races, a performance venue, a flower field and a variety of farm animals. Plans are for the initial facility to cover nine acres and play host to school field trips.
News 'Very nice:' S.C. peach growers on course for excellent season By Bill Bengtson [email protected]
Plans are also eventually to offer a 10-acre corn maze, a one-mile course for hay rides and a half-mile trail to be decked out with illuminated jack-o'-lanterns. Offerings will vary by season, and a show by local country singer Cody Webb is to be part of the opening weekend's festivities, as is a sunflower festival.
Edgefield County Administrator David Caddell gave the project a thumbs-up review and said he has been aware of the developing concept for about a year.
"The employment aspect of it is great, and we like to see a local business do well," he added.
Will Williams, president and CEO of Western South Carolina Economic Development Partnership, made similar comments.
"This is going to be a very good asset for our region - not only for the people of Aiken and Edgefield counties ... but this will also attract people that are traveling through and it's really not that far off the interstate, so people that are passing through will be able to come buy and learn about agribusiness and this agritourism destination and why ... Titan Farms grows more peaches than the entire state of Georgia," he said.
Today's Top Headlines Lowes Foods sets opening date later this month for Aiken store Aiken woman makes first hole-in-one at 98 McCurley Farms selling fresh produce on Aiken's Southside Patel to reopen Rose Hill as business after estate fails to find new owner in foreclosure sale Aiken County woman who was missing now 'safe and well' Aiken business won't reopen after fire earlier this year AIKEN MASTER GARDENERS: Humming birds are exquisite summer visitors James Brown and Lyn Collins estates argue in Aiken court over allegedly unpaid royalties Aikenites to discuss Olympic experiences during dinner at The Willcox Tropical Smoothie Cafe opens in Aiken Towne Park News Eudora Farms adds acreage, altitude By Bill Bengtson [email protected]
Major landmarks within a few hundred yards include Trenton Correctional Institution, a state prison; and Costa Farms, a commercial nursery that focuses locally on flowers.
"This will be huge for this area, as it celebrates agriculture in the South Carolina side of the CSRA as well as a farm and a crop that continues to dominate this part of South Carolina," Williams said.
The South Carolina Department of Agriculture's website offers a definition of agritourism as "agriculture-based activities that bring people to farms, ranches or other agricultural settings."
Aiken Area News Jason Tufts recalls 'stunning' London setting for ambassador duty By Bill Bengtson [email protected]
It adds, "Some examples include u-pick operations, corn mazes, farm to table dinners, and on-the-farm restaurants with markets that sell locally made foods."
One of South Carolina's larger examples is Denver Downs Farm in Anderson. The farm dates back to Reconstruction and was established by the Garrison family. Descendants of the original owners now own the facility and are "committed to preserving their farming legacy and providing special crops and farm experiences with the community and region," as described in promotional material.
The namesake of the facility being built in Edgefield County is the late Sara Powell, a Saluda native who ran a successful roadside produce stand for years and had a longstanding relationship with Chalmers and Lori Anne Carr, the owners of Titan Farms. The Carrs provided peaches for her business - still in operation, at 5250 Edgefield Road, in Trenton - and she sold it to the Carrs in 2007.