\nAlex writes:
\nSunday, January 27, 2002

\n\nEarly in the morning Brian Hawley and Alex Cheek drove west on Highway 76 from Columbia, \nSouth Carolina, armed only with a topographical map and the existing satellite photo from \nthe Online Air Defense Radar Museum. At this time the marking from the website mentioned \na "possible" and "suspected" radar site, so the two of us were truly flying blind. \nWe turned onto state Road 261 looking for a side road that would take us as close as \npossible to the potential location. This part of the world, on the edge of the Wateree \nSwamp, is sparsely inhabited and thickly covered with pine forests, so we expected a \ntough trek through dense undergrowth. The few roads we saw were dirt tracks blocked \nby gates and prominent "Posted-No Trespassing" signs. Clearly, any attempt to search \nfor the site by following an abandoned dirt road would involve some risk. When we \ncame to the crossroads settlement of Wedgefield Brian suggested we stop and see if the \nlocals could offer any assistance. The kind woman behind the counter at the general \nstore took my odd request in stride and recalled a number of towers connected with \nnearby Shaw Air Force Base. She then telephoned a retired USAF flight engineer who \nlived nearby, and he told us to turn around and go back the way we came until we came \nto a large blue water tower. That tower had built by the County in 1980 on the old \nradar site, and was now abandoned. He encouraged us to "Take a bunch of pictures, \nbecause it\'ll all be torn down soon." \n

\nFive minutes later we stood at the gates to the former gap filler site, just a few feet \noff state road 261. The tower is on ground much higher than the road, so the building \nis not even visible to motorists. The woods were filled with what Brian swore were \n"the biggest briars I have ever seen," and roots from trees had literally covered \nthe four concrete foundations of a tower just outside the site fence. It seemed \nmuch too light to be from an old fire tower, so perhaps it once supported an antenna \nof some kind. At first it seemed we would have to be content with views of the site \nthrough the tall barbed wire-topped fence, but the opened doorways of the \ngenerator and equipment building proved irresistible. Through the \nunpleasant underbrush we walked the fence line, and at last found an opening made by \ncurious (and thin) locals.\n\nAfter we struggled through the fence and made our way through the briars and down the \nsteep embankment to our car, we loaded up our few "souvenirs." As we got back in our \ncar two things happened-it started to rain and two sheriffs deputies and a highway \npatrolman drove by. Luck was with us that day!\n

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\nThe water tower at right is clearly seen in the aerial photo on the Stateburg home page.

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\nTo the south of the building Brian found three concrete tower foundations, now overgrown.

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