Persimmon Ridge Headwaters

Persimmon Ridge Road is the sinuous backroad artery coursing through the heart of the Mountain Bridge Wilderness. Winding through Ashmore and Eva Chandler Heritage Preserves and Caesars Head State Park, the sleepy gravel road is the little known access to thousands of acres of Upstate public lands. 

Since 2005 we have concentrated our efforts along this corridor to protect water resources, mountain landscapes and expand public recreation opportunities. The state and Naturaland Trust have worked together to protect the many granite outcrops, waterfalls, lakes, forests and creeks found here. 

This region is also home to an array of rare and charismatic plants, some of which are endangered species like the mountain sweet pitcher plant. This carnivorous plant has carved out a niche for itself growing in boggy and nutrient-poor soils. In order to survive, it devours unsuspecting insects in its tubular leaves to supplement its diet. During the spring and summer, the plants produce an other-worldly red flower that compliments its odd shape. 

This rare plant and many others depend on a specific ecosystem and delicate hydrological conditions to survive. Just upstream, however, a man-made impoundment shared by two 16-acre parcels was in poor condition and risked destroying eons of ecological wonder. We were afraid that should something happen to the impoundment, or it be mismanaged, it could destroy the fragile ecosystem and the endangered plants below. So we set out to purchase the properties. When one of the tracts went on the market, DNR urged us to act. We took a financial leap of faith in 2013 and with the support of Hollingsworth Funds and the Graham Foundation we were able to pay down the majority of the purchase price and closing costs.

Four years later in 2017, the opportunity arose to purchase the adjoining 16 acres, which would give us full control over the pond and the impoundment. Without hesitating, we jumped at the chance and applied for funding with the SC Conservation Bank. Our grant was successful and we owned all 32 acres of the Persimmon Ridge Headwaters.

Often, we are able to raise acquisition costs through generous grants with our local, state, and federal sources to protect these resources. Recognizing their importance, the Graham Foundation, Hollingsworth Funds and South Carolina Conservation Bank stepped up in a major way. We were left with a short funding gap to complete the purchase, but thanks to a heroic and anonymous donation to Upstate Forever in honor of Marjorie E. Schmidt, a longtime Greenville resident with a heart for nature and a humble, giving spirit, we were made whole. We are very grateful and will do our best to honor Marjorie's love of nature through this project and others.