Andrew Jackson State Park combines history, art and community activities into a setting that has made it one of the S.C. State Park Service’s most popular attractions.

The only park in the system dedicated to a U.S. president, Andrew Jackson State Park features a museum that details the boyhood of the nation’s seventh president, who grew up here in what then was known as the Waxhaws of the South Carolina backcountry.

A striking highlight of the park grounds is the bold equestrian statue of “Old Hickory” sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington of Brookgreen Gardens fame. Living history programs with docents in period garb are included in the park’s programming.

The Lancaster County park also has a replica of a late 18th-century one-room schoolhouse, an amphitheatre that serves as home to a well-attended bluegrass festival each year and other community gatherings, as well as a campground, fishing lake, picnicking facilities and trails.

On Feb. 2-3, 1865, 1,200 Confederate soldiers made a stand at Rivers Bridge on the Salkehatchie River against Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s sweep across South Carolina during the final months of the Civil War. Behind stout earthen fortifications, the Southerners fought a division of about 5,000 Union soldiers. Union troops crossed the swollen swamp on both ends of the Confederate line to finally win the battle. The tour will examine the still intact fortifications as well as the natural topography that led one Union general to call Rivers Bridge "… the strongest position I ever saw in my life."

The H. Cooper Black Jr. Memorial Field Trial and Recreation Area is the setting for national-level field trial and retriever competitions.

Covering 7,000 rolling acres of longleaf pine forest and fields, the park’s facilities include stables, kennels, corrals, arenas, waterfowl ponds, campgrounds and a kitchen/meeting hall.

There also are more than 20 miles of equestrian trails and sand roads for riders in the park, some that lead into Sand Hills State Forest.

H. Cooper Black is also adjacent to Cheraw State Park, which offers a championship golf course, cabins, camping, boating, fishing and more.

Watch a 17th/18th century town emerge from the past as archaeologists uncover one of the richest sites in South Carolina. Visitors can observe archaeologists as they sift through the remains of a town that included houses, markets, a school, a church, a boat yard and more. One of the most complete archaeological records of colonial America, Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site is a time capsule waiting for you!

The Bordeux Room at Hickory Knob is a banquet room adjacent to the Hickory Knob restaurant.