York County

Come sit on the porch with a glass of iced tea and enjoy the view of Lake Wylie, beautifully preserved homes and manicured landscapes. This is York County, SC. It's a place that offers the best of both worlds - relaxed lakeside living and quiet friendly streets along with easy access on I-77 and S.C./N.C. 49 to the cultural, shopping and other attractions of Charlotte. Families are drawn to York County by the area's excellent employment opportunities, reputation for quality public schools and recreation opportunities on Lake Wylie.

South of Charlotte and west of I-77 is Rock Hill, the fifth largest city in South Carolina. Rock Hill boasts new business parks, low unemployment and an abundance of new neighborhoods. It's known for its gardens and manicured landscapes, in particular at Glencairn Garden, Cherry Park and the campus of Winthrop University.

Founded in 1895, Winthrop is a major regional education institution. Long known for its teacher preparation, Winthrop has gained widespread recognition for its other academic courses of study, including interior design and graphic design. The university offers 59 under-graduate and 45 graduate degrees and options in the College of Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Education, and Visual and Performing Arts. Joining the ranks of only 17 institutions nationwide accredited by the national associations of music, art and design, theatre and dance, the university has established itself as a regional center for the arts. York County has acquired quite a reputation recently for hosting motion picture filming. Actor Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War movie, "The Patriot," was filmed in York County, as was CBS's mini-series "Shake, Rattle and Roll."

Rock Hill's downtown is a model for surrounding communities to redevelop their older Main Street districts and bring new business and residential development back to downtown. The city completed a new city hall almost a decade ago that is the centerpiece of the downtown district. Lakemont Business Park, located on the state line near Carowinds, provides numerous jobs for the area, as do Kingsley, a corporate/ residential community, and Bradley Park, a distribution/light manufacturing area. Major employers include Black & Decker, Northern Tool & Equipment Co., U.S. Foodservice and Willamette Industries.

York County also includes some popular shopping destinations. The Galleria, easily accessible off I-77 in Rock Hill, provides plenty of opportunities to fill your shopping bags, including department stores and specialty shops. Crossroads Mall, near Paramount's Carowinds, is another popular place to spend a Saturday stocking up on great deals.

Fort Mill, a community once known for textiles and peach farming, is now rapidly becoming a business and residential magnet. Fort Mill takes its name from a colonial-era fort built by the British and a gristmill on nearby Steele Creek. Today, the total population of Fort Mill is just under 7,000 people and is expected to double in 20 years.

With the challenges of coming growth, local leaders are busy making sure that Fort Mill retains its relaxed style and small-town charm. One neighborhood preserving this charm is The Village of Baxter, a 1,000-acre community developed by the Springs Industries/Close textile family. The community has tried to create a neighborhood modeled after small Southern towns where you'd feel comfortable chatting over the fence or borrowing a cup of sugar. Homes are set close to the street and include porches to encourage interaction among neighbors. The community boasts a new $1.5 million community center that includes a pool, aerobics room and meeting rooms. There's also an elementary school and a branch of the York County Library.

Tega Cay is an upscale lakeside community located off I-77 and Gold Hill Road on a peninsula of Lake Wylie. This master-planned community was started in the 1970's and modeled after a Polynesian resort. Tega Cay is located on a 1,600-acre peninsula and offers two full-service marinas. It caters to life on the lake with golfing, swimming pools, lighted tennis courts and walking trails. Another popular York County town is Clover, a town of just over 4,000 people west of Lake Wylie. Many families are attracted to the area because of the reputation of the area's public school district. Once there, they find this quiet community, located on S.C. 321 just south of the state line, to be a friendly place to get to know neighbors and enjoy the recreational amenities not far away.

Clover was first referred to as Clover Patch back in 1870. That's when the area that is now the town was the site of a 5,000-gallon water tank that was used to serve the steam engines of the nearby railroad. Legend has it that water often spilled from the tank, causing a patch of clover to grow.

Farther south along U.S. 321 is York, the county seat of York County. York is a community of beautifully restored homes. The U.S. Department of the Interior granted York one of the largest historic districts in the country. The restored downtown area is a fun place to shop for antiques and specialty items. All of York County's residents find quality health care at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill. It is a fully accredited hospital that provides a full range of emergency, acute-care and specialty services.

Aside from Lake Wylie's watery charms, York County offers a multitude of recreational attractions. One of the most popular is Paramount's Carowinds theme and water park, which straddles the NC/SC state line. Entertainment, wild roller coasters and other attractions - including the chance to stand in two states at the same time - bring visitors throughout the summer. Baseball fans can go out to the ballpark at Knights Castle on Gold Hill Road at I-77 to see the AAA International League Charlotte Knights, affiliated with the Chicago White Sox.