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iver homes have been the norm in the Carolinas for two centuries, but river development
is changing with an eye for blending homes and amenities with the environment
while providing a recreational, residential and preservation system. An impressive
example of that strategy can be found in Columbia, where the River Alliance has
launched a series of major projects to develop about 90 miles of rivers including
greenways, river recreation (paddling, rowing and fly-fishing, for example) ecotourism
(Congaree Swamp) and historical development. The banks of the Congaree also are
being developed for some ambitious residential developments.
Mike Dawson heads the nonprofit agency that has presented "150 policy recommendations
to governments" and created a coalition that involves state and county government,
South Carolina Electric & Gas, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, the University of South
Carolina, the State Museum and various corporations. "We want to look at rivers
to see how they can be used to benefit residents and visitors," Col. Dawson says.
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Visitors and residents can enjoy tour boat
excursions on Columbia's Riverfront Park Canal, with evening dinner cruises available
as well.
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Some will have the benefit of looking out their windows at the rocky shoals of
the Congaree; others will run the Saluda River rapids on rafts. Meanwhile, in
the fast-moving cold water, the trout fisherman can wield his rod in the shadow
of Columbia's tallest buildings. About 300 dwellings a year for the next few years
will be erected on riverbanks, and the 17-mile Three Rivers Greenway will offer
biking, running and paddling outings. Visitors and residents can enjoy tour boat
excursions on Columbia's Riverfront Park Canal, with evening dinner cruises available
as well.
There are similar developments along the Neuse River in the Raleigh area, the
Catawba River near Charlotte, the Reedy River in Greenville, South Carolina, the
French Broad near Asheville and the New River in Boone. Near Orangeburg on the
North Fork of the Edisto River are riverside neighborhoods flanking Orangeburg
Country Club; and near Aiken are similar clusters of river homes around the South
Fork of the Edisto, where a state park is situated.
Tidewater creeks and rivers attract settlers in both Carolinas from Callawassie
Creek and Whale Branch River in Beaufort to the Ashley River in Charleston, the
Wando in Mount Pleasant, various creeks and rivers along the Grand Strand and
the eastern North Carolina region.
Hobie and Carol Kraner live on the creekfront in Murrells Inlet, an alluring fishing
village on the lower Grand Strand of South Carolina that is working hard to preserve
that ambiance. Former New Yorkers, the Kraners started vacationing on Huntington
Beach State Park in the early 1970s and finally decided to buy a second home in
Murrells Inlet just a few miles north. From their home near Parsonage Creek, they
can launch their 14-foot Laser sailboat or their small outboard runabout in a
finger canal practically in their back yard that leads into the creek.
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"We fish and we crab and
we get out in the boat and wander over to the state park."
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"We found this wonderful little home off the creek, which has enough water at
half-tide for us to get in the creek," said Mr. Kraner. "We fish and we crab and
we get out in the boat and wander over to the state park." The state park has
three miles of impeccable beach, and not far from the Kraner home are marsh keys
where the shelling is good, Drunken Jack Island where there are shell mounds to
explore, and the inlet where fishing and sailing can be enjoyed. If the Kraners
want a tidewater river experience, they haul their boat by trailer a few miles
west and launch it at Wacca Wache Marina and landing on the Waccamaw River.
Mr. Kraner is involved with Murrells Inlet 2007, a preservation organization that
has spearheaded efforts to build a 1,300-foot marshwalk and acquire a few acres
of land for a park with an oystershell landing on the creekfront. A 22-mile multipurpose
path for cycling, walking and rollerblading has its trailhead at Murrells Inlet
and extends down Waccamaw Neck to the bridge over the mouth of the Waccamaw River
at Georgetown. "We have to be careful how we treat this creek," Mr. Kraner says.
"We enjoy birding, and that's a big attraction for us, and we play tennis at Litchfield,
which has the finest facilities anywhere."
When Verne and Sandy Jacobson of Midland, Michigan, came to eastern North Carolina
to look around, they had reservations about whether they would be smitten with
the Cape Fear River area around Wallace, about 35 miles northwest of Wilmington.
They just wanted to retire somewhere warm, not far from the ocean and in an area
where the duck hunting was good. When they found River Landing, they decided they
needed to look no more.
"It was our first trip there ever; we didn't even think it was what we wanted,"
recalls Sandy Jacobson, who said they learned about River Landing via the Internet.
"We were surprised when we got here. It's secluded and spread out, like a lot
of little neighborhoods, and we picked out a piece of property on the river. It
has a lot of green areas, and they've done a great deal with the landscaping and
kept a lot of trees."
Although it's most likely a myth, around Florence it's widely held that Stephen
Foster wrote "Old Folks at Home" about the Great Pee Dee River. True or not, the
sentiment that evokes the lure of living "way down upon" the Pee Dee and many
other scenic and intriguing Carolina rivers is compelling. Just ask Sandy Jacobson
or Hobie Kraner.
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Written by Gene Able
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