Did you know... that Spartanburg County is the birthplace of soil conservation in the state of South

Carolina?

In 1933, under the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Soil Erosion Service was established. With a five

million dollar budget, the Soil Erosion Service set up demonstration sites in strategic locations

throughout the United States. One of these sites covered the South Tyger River Watershed, located in

Greenville and Spartanburg counties. The first project within this demonstration area began on

December 18, 1933 at the J.L. Berry farm, located near Poplar Springs in Spartanburg County.

Due to uncontrolled water from field terraces, soil had eroded away from an area on the Berry farm that

created an 800-foot-long and 35-foot-deep gully in only eight years. Acres of productive cropland were

destroyed and bottomland stream channels were choked from sedimentation.

                                                                                                  The Berry Gully - Before

Equipped only with hand tools (shovels and axes) and limited technical knowledge, 75 relief workers

brought the problem under control by diverting the water away from the gully, sloping and planting the

banks of the gully with grass, trees and shrubs, and building log dams across the main channel. The

project was a success and the methods used at the Berry Gully project were used throughout the

Piedmont and influenced gully control work all over the United States.

                                                                                                      The Berry Gully - After

In 1935, Public Law 46 was passed by the U.S. Congress. This law established soil and water

conservation and wise land use as a national policy.  It also created the Natural Resources

Conservation Service, a federal agency housed within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt wrote all Governors, recommending that each state adopt

legislation forming conservation districts, and a state agency to provide coordination and guidance to

these districts. This state agency would also provide professional, technical, and financial assistance

to the districts. Governor Olin D. Johnston signed the S.C. Conservation Districts Law on

April 17, 1937.

These legal agreements establish the working partnership between the United States Secretary of

Agriculture, the State of South Carolina, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, and each

conservation district in South Carolina.