Ok, so near the Stumphouse Tunnel is Issaqueena Falls, a kind of personal landmark. Shortly after my wife and I met five years ago in Charleston, I got "Swamp Fever" and had to go somewhere that wasn't flat. Picking her up, we took a short trip driving in the general direction of mountains and wound up here. Couldn't really complain. So the site has kept a special meaning for us, and since we were in the area, we dropped by for a visit. Here is the creek leading to the top of the falls.
Here is the waterfall in 2003
And in 2008... not so much. Remember that drought going on? There's a little water going over, but not much. The waterfall is known from the poem "Cateechee of Keowee", a love story by J.W. Daniels in 1898. In the story there is a Creek maiden named Issaqueena who was captured by the Cherokee and renamed Cateechee. She fell in love with a white trader named Allan Francis, and hearing of a plan to attack the white sttlers, she rode to his fort at Ninety-Six to warn him. She stayed with the white men for fear of retribution and eventually married Allan. They later moved to Stumphouse Mountain (where the falls are) with their new baby to build a home. The Cherokee chief learned of this, and set out to capture her. Seeing the warriors coming, Issaqueena, she ran towards the falls, and knowing the Cherokee believed waterfalls had evil spirits, she pretended to jump off the cliff. Once the warriors left, she climbed out from the ledge where she had in fact hidden and rejoined her familly.
In 2003, a picture that I still have on display
And 2008. Not sure why she faced the wrong way.
Aw, we were so cute! (I know, I know, what happened? Geez....)
And 2008
Well, even with no water, it still has quite a view of the "Kudzu National Forest".
Ok, so near the Stumphouse Tunnel is Issaqueena Falls, a kind of personal landmark. Shortly after my wife and I met five years ago in Charleston, I got "Swamp Fever" and had to go somewhere that wasn't flat. Picking her up, we took a short trip driving in the general direction of mountains and wound up here. Couldn't really complain. So the site has kept a special meaning for us, and since we were in the area, we dropped by for a visit. Here is the creek leading to the top of the falls.
Here is the waterfall in 2003
And in 2008... not so much. Remember that drought going on? There's a little water going over, but not much. The waterfall is known from the poem "Cateechee of Keowee", a love story by J.W. Daniels in 1898. In the story there is a Creek maiden named Issaqueena who was captured by the Cherokee and renamed Cateechee. She fell in love with a white trader named Allan Francis, and hearing of a plan to attack the white sttlers, she rode to his fort at Ninety-Six to warn him. She stayed with the white men for fear of retribution and eventually married Allan. They later moved to Stumphouse Mountain (where the falls are) with their new baby to build a home. The Cherokee chief learned of this, and set out to capture her. Seeing the warriors coming, Issaqueena, she ran towards the falls, and knowing the Cherokee believed waterfalls had evil spirits, she pretended to jump off the cliff. Once the warriors left, she climbed out from the ledge where she had in fact hidden and rejoined her familly.
In 2003, a picture that I still have on display
And 2008. Not sure why she faced the wrong way.
Aw, we were so cute! (I know, I know, what happened? Geez....)
And 2008
Well, even with no water, it still has quite a view of the "Kudzu National Forest".
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