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Poinsett State Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Shanks Creek Poinsett State Park.jpg
Shanks Creek, flowing through Poinsett State Park near Wedgefield, South Carolina
Poinsett State Park is located in South Carolina
Poinsett State Park
Poinsett State Park
Location in South Carolina
Location Sumter County, South Carolina, United States
Nearest city Wedgefield, SC
Area 1,010 acres (4.1 km2)
Established 1934
Visitors 48,256 (in fy 2006-2007)
Governing body South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism

Poinsett State Park is a special place located in Sumter County, South Carolina. It's known for its amazing mix of plants. You can find plants that usually grow in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont areas, along with those from the dry Sandhills and the Atlantic coastal plain. Imagine seeing mountain laurels with Spanish moss hanging from them!

The park is named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was from South Carolina. He was an amateur botanist and the first American ambassador to Mexico. He also helped make the poinsettia flower very popular. There is a small fee to enter Poinsett State Park. You also pay a bit extra if you want to camp overnight or rent a cabin. The park is surrounded by the Manchester State Forest. Both areas offer access to the Palmetto Trail, which has connected paths for hiking and mountain biking. Manchester State Forest also has trails for horseback riding.

Park History

The land where Poinsett State Park now sits was once used by different Native American tribes. These included the Santee, Wateree, and Catawba tribes, who mostly used the area for hunting. The Congaree tribe also lived nearby and might have visited the area often.

Levi's Mill Pond

Before the American Revolution, a man named Levi owned this land. He built a dam to hold water, which was used to grow rice. This area became known as Levi's Mill Pond. Later, the pond's water power was used to run a mill. You can still see parts of the old mill today. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) later improved the pond, and it is now called Old Levi Mill Pond.

Singleton Family and Park Opening

In the early 1800s, the land was sold to members of the Singleton family. They owned many large farms in Sumter County. One famous member of this family was Angelica Singleton Van Buren, who became the First Lady of the United States.

Sumter County gave about 1,000 acres of land for the park. Poinsett State Park officially opened to the public in 1936. Many of the buildings you see in the park today were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. They used a special type of rock called coquina, which is a young limestone with visible fossil seashells. Poinsett State Park was the first of many parks built by the CCC in South Carolina.

Park Desegregation

During a time when public places were separated by race, a nearby park called Mill Creek Group Camp was for Black visitors. In 1963, Poinsett State Park, along with all other state parks in South Carolina, was closed for a year. This happened because of a court order to desegregate the parks, meaning they had to allow people of all races. All of the park's facilities fully reopened by 1966. In 2016, the historical parts of the park were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Plants and Animals

Poinsett State Park is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Surveys have found 337 different kinds of flowering plants here, including 65 types of trees and shrubs.

Trees and Shrubs

Some of the trees you can find include:

Wildlife You Might See

Many animals live in the park, though some are rarely seen. These include copperhead snakes (Agkistrodon contortrix), cottonmouth snakes (A. piscivorus), American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), and bobcats (Lynx rufus).

Animals you are more likely to encounter during your visit include:

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