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  Devils Pool: A hidden historic treasure uncovered web posted September 26, 2008  TRENTON – The
legendary “Devil’s Pool” in
Trenton has always been a location that was known only to a few. Anyone
that grew up in Trenton was familiar with the “pool” and its cool
waters used by local children to escape the summer heat, who rarely
shared its location with “outsiders”. Nestled in a deeply wooded area,
access to the pool was a difficult hike and landowners refusing to
allow the public to venture on private property kept the secret
location, well, a secret over the years. That may be changing. Local Trenton
businessman Billy Williams has taken the difficult hike
and turned it into an enjoyable ride and is in the process of cleaning
up around the legendary “Devils Pool”. Mr. Williams invited
EdgefieldDaily.com’s editor to join him to show the progress he has
made clearing the area around the pool and its nearby waterfall. Of
course, the trip would not be complete without visiting the nearby rock
impressions said to be the knee and footprint of the Devil himself,
bringing forth the name “Devil’s Pool”. (Below) The “pool” which is
roughly ten to twelve feet in length, five feet
wide, and four and a half feet deep, complete with a stairway leading
down into the pool still remains filled with silt and sand from over
the years keeping the most intriguing aspects of the location left to
be seen.“There used to be a dam across here,” and the water buried the pool below Mr. Williams said. But it was made of the sandy soil nearby and was eventually washed away. Now Mr. Williams is clearing out the area and has even installed a steel beam that is used as a bridge to cross the creek. ”It took me a while to find it,” Mr. Williams said after he read the story on EdgefieldDaily.com last year about the location. “I thought it was further up (the creek) but when I found it I pushed up (the trees and underbrush) around it and started to clean up the area.” Mr. Williams said at this time he is not opening the area to the general public, “I just like showing it to people because it is interesting.” Mr. Williams, like those who know the location of the legendary feature, gets a bit giddy showing it off. Several rumors about the naming of “Devil’s Pool” have circulated around Trenton for generations. One popular legend is that shortly after the pool was built as a baptismal pool for a church that once stood across from the location that is now Douglas Elementary, everyone that was baptized in its waters died mysteriously. Another popular legend is that a preacher drowned a young girl in the waters of the pool and it was then filled with dirt so it could never be used again. Others claim an Indian curse caused all those who used the "sacred ground" to die. The latter has the least veracity as generations of youths in Trenton would clean out the pool and use it as a “swimming hole” and it was a popular gathering place in the 1960’s through the 1980’s for the youngsters. The actual history of the carved pool remains unknown and perhaps that leads to the interest people have of the legendary site and the mystery and rumors that abound around it. The trip to Devil’s Pool was a nostalgic one for this writer who spent countless summers swimming and exploring the area around the pool as did many of the other children who grew up in Trenton. Perhaps in the future Mr. Williams may allow the pubic to get a glimpse of this hidden treasure in Historic Edgefield County. If he ever does allow visits, it would be worth the time to see something that is a one of a kind attraction. In this writer’s opinion it should be considered a historical site. With its origins never being revealed in the written history of the area it only makes the site that much more fascinating. ©
Copyright 2008
EdgefieldDaily.com All
original material is property of
EdgefieldDaily.com and cannot be reproduced, rewritten or redistributed
without the expressed written permission of Edgefield Daily.com
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