Another Roadside Attraction Geotrail

South Carolina - Fort Sumter National Monument

There is nothing better than a good road trip: driving down the open road, eating at tiny roadside diners, going 150 miles out of the way to take a selfie in front of …. the Peachoid water tower! Oh Say, can you see … me with the world’s largest frying pan?

This geotrail honors those unique, odd, bizarre, fun, historic, campy, weird, and just downright interesting roadside attractions in North and South Carolina. The caches aren’t meant to be hard, it is a power-trail after all. None of the caches are hidden at the posted locations - but answer the question correctly and you will have a working set of coordinates. All of the hides are preform bottles.

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, when the Confederacy pummeled the Federal fort. The first shot was fired at 4:30 AM and the Federal Troops surrendered 34 hours later.  When US soldiers retook control of Morris Island in 1863, including the charge of the all-black 54th of Massachusetts made famous in the movie Glory, they began a bombardment of the fort that lasted 18 months.  The fort and the city surrendered in February 1865.  The siege was the longest in US Military history -- lasting 587 days.  Today's fort is a relic, no longer an imposing structure with walls reaching 50 feet above sea level.  Work began to repair the fort in the 1870's but the project soon ran out of money so the area was used as a lighthouse station for decades.  It was modernized at the turn of the 20th century and was manned as a protective fortress through WWII.  It became a National Monument in 1948.  Tours run three to six times a day, depending on the season.  The trip includes a boat ride and takes at least two and a half hours.  

N 34 30.ABC W 79 18.021

Where is Fort Sumter National Monument?

A. Joanna, SC - 424

B. Charleston, SC - 344

C. Florence, SC - 966

D. Columbia, SC - 757