History on the strip: From industrial powerhouse to ecological sanctuary: Conestee celebrates 20 years of trail connections

By Barbara LeForge, Golden Strip News Editor

Twenty years after opening its first public trail, Conestee Nature Preserve is getting ready to celebrate two decades of conservation, recreation, and community stewardship.

Tucked along the Reedy River just south of downtown Greenville and bordering Mauldin, the preserve is now one of the Upstate’s most visited natural spaces. But long before it offered more than 13 miles of trails, boardwalks, and wildlife overlooks, Conestee was a busy, smoky hub of South Carolina’s early industrial ambitions. As the preserve approaches its 20th anniversary this November, its landscape tells a story of industry, environmental consequence, and community-led restoration.

The McBee vision and early industry

Long before it bore the name Conestee, the granite shoals and rushing waters along this stretch of the Reedy drew settlers and millwrights. In the 1830s, Vardry McBee, often called the “Father of Greenville,” acquired large tracts along the river with plans for a water-powered industrial outpost.

Working with Scottish engineer John Adams, McBee built a stone dam to power paper and textile mills, along with a grist mill and sawmill. In 1841, Adams built McBee Methodist Chapel for local millworkers. Its unusual octagonal design, meant to improve acoustics and seating for circuit-riding preachers, makes it one of the area’s most distinctive historic buildings, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During the Civil War, the mills produced fabric for Confederate uniforms before changing hands after the war.

The rise of Conestee Mill and Lake Conestee

The village took its lasting shape during the textile boom of the late 1800s. In 1892, the stone dam was rebuilt and raised to about 30 feet, creating a 130-acre reservoir known as Lake Conestee.

By 1909, the business was chartered as Conestee Mills. A company town grew up around the multi-story brick mill, with mill houses along unpaved lanes south of the river, a company store that took mill scrip and tokens, and a company baseball team, garden plots, and civic groups that anchored daily life for generations of textile workers. Operations gradually wound down in the 1970s.

An accidental trap

Decades of upstream industry and Greenville’s growth took a heavy toll on the Reedy River, as industrial waste, textile dyes, and urban runoff flowed downstream.

The 1892 dam became an accidental sediment trap. Instead of washing toward Lake Greenwood, huge volumes of contaminated silt settled into Lake Conestee. By the late 1990s, the lake had largely filled in, leaving little open water. Environmental leaders faced a serious problem: if the aging dam ever failed, that trapped sediment could spread downstream and damage waterways across multiple counties.

Two decades of restoration

That crisis became the start of one of the Southeast’s most notable conservation stories. Scientists found that newer layers of silt had capped the older contaminants, allowing wetlands, bottomland hardwoods, and marsh to take hold on top.

In 2000, the nonprofit Conestee Foundation formed to acquire the dam and surrounding land, repair the historic masonry, and protect the river corridor. In 2006, the site opened its first trails to the public as a state-designated wildlife sanctuary.

Today the preserve offers protected habitat recognized as a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area, home to more than 220 bird species along with river otters, beavers, and deer. Visitors can explore more than 13 miles of natural trails and elevated boardwalks, including a paved connection to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, and see pieces of the site’s industrial past, including old raceways, the 1892 dam, and the nearby mill complex.

Celebrating “20 Years of Trail Connections”

Conestee Nature Preserve will mark its anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the preserve’s main trailhead, 840 Mauldin Road. The celebration will include:

• An anniversary scavenger hunt using the GooseChase app, sending teams along the trails to answer nature trivia and meet partner organizations
• Live bluegrass, local food trucks, craft beer, and family activities honoring the volunteers, donors, and visitors who helped build the preserve
• Guided fall foliage walks along the Reedy River wetlands

About the Author

Barbara LeForge is a passionate storyteller, dedicated community leader, and active participant in the Mauldin community, where she serves as her neighborhood’s HOA board president. A former educator, Barbara now homeschools her four amazing children, balancing daily lessons with the vibrant chaos of a busy home. When she isn’t running community meetings or editing local news, you can find her tending to her backyard oasis as an experienced gardener or working on her next literary project as a published author. She loves sharing her practical tips, local insights, and a little Southern humor with her neighbors through her regular column space.

Registration and advance tickets are available at conesteepreserve.org.