Contact Information
Brett M. Moule
SC Department of Natural Resources
1000 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 734-3886 (Columbia)
Hours of Operation
The area is open during daylight hours year-round.
Contributions to the Endangered Wildlife Fund on the South Carolina Income Tax Form help to make the identification and management of these preserves possible.
Photographs
Description
Henderson Heritage Preserve was acquired and dedicated to protect a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) -scrub oak (Quercus spp.) sandhills ecosystem. The preserve was established in 1993 when Ms. Rosetta Miller donated 197.5 acres to the HTP. The preserve is named in honor of Ms. Miller's great grandfather, Frank P. Henderson, who was a former Mayor of Anderson.
In the period between the Wisconsin glaciation (ca. 12,000 years before present) and European settlement, fire-dependent longleaf pine ecosystems became the most extensive ecosystems in the southeastern United States, covering 60-90 million acres. Today, because of fire suppression and harvesting without replacement, only about 3 million acres remain. These forests, although dominated by a single canopy tree species, are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America. Biologists conduct prescribed burns to mimic natural fires and restore and maintain the ecosystem. The preserve's overstory is mainly mature longleaf pine, with turkey oak (Q. laevis) dominating the midstory, and several species of wiregrass, plus rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides), trailing arbutus (Epigea repens), blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), and other species in the understory. Nestronia umbellula, a parasitic plant from a monotypic genus, is the preserve's rarest element. The 1.4 mile hiking trail will guide the visitor through much of this habitat.
The preserve encompasses 417 acres in Aiken County, about 2 miles north of Aiken, and 2 miles south of Interstate 20. Aiken County is located in the western part of the state along the Georgia state line, and on the fall line physiographic province, which lies between the coastal plain and piedmont physiographic provinces.