The Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, South Carolina

Project Description > Greenways Incorporated worked with Ms. Anne Springs Close and the Leroy Springs Foundation of Fort Mill, South Carolina to develop a master plan for this 2,000 acre private greenway. The Greenway is operated by Leroy Springs and Company, a non-profit corporation, and has been developed as a cultural and environmental park for residents of Fort Mill and the surrounding region. Located 20 minutes from downtown Charlotte, the Greenway also serves as a regional park for southern Charlotte. As a fee-for-entry, private park, the Greenway offers some of the most outstanding resources for visitors, including an interpretive center, equestrian camp, nature camp and an institute for ecological and environmental education.

The Greenway is rich in both natural and cultural resources. Natural resources include over 190 species of wildflowers, and a great diversity of birds and other interesting wildlife. The Greenway houses the 30-acre Lake Haigler, as well as other lakes and ponds, mixed hardwood forests, prairies, Steele Creek and vistas that are truly breathtaking. Canoeing, fishing and swimming are available at the park. Cultural resources include the historic Nation Ford Road, part of the Great Philadelphia wagon road and a pathway for Native Americans, settlers, American revolution and civil war soldiers, traders and trappers for hundreds of years. In addition to this nationally significant site, the Greenway contains a circa 1800 log cabin, a 1780 hall and parlor log house, a 1946 Dairy Barn, the site of the original mill for which Fort Mill is named, and other historic sites.

Greenways Incorporated developed a 100-year vision, 20-year master plan and 5-year action plan for the project. Our master plan for the site included the layout of a multi-purpose trail system through the Steel Creek floodplain, that links recreational areas, camp sites and historical sites. Additionally, traditional agricultural land uses have been adapted for modern and future uses, to preserve and protect the unique heritage of the Springs family.