Mill Creek

Big Creek, Pine Timber, Hardwood Forest

Mill Creek Tract is an outstanding rural property with standing timber value and great diversity for wildlife habitat, close to the conveniences of a big town. The land lies east of Hwy 9 about halfway between Spartanburg and Union in a quiet area of north Union County.

Mill Creek is a large stream with bottoms filled with mature hardwoods and a big beaver swamp. Uplands are rolling hills covered by forests of well-spaced, open pines. Steeper slopes overlook the creek bottom and nearby drainageways, shaded by big, mixed upland hardwoods.

About 140 acres are forested with loblolly pine planted in 2002. Another 22 acres near the south boundary were planted in 1997. All pine areas have been fertilized, thinned, and fertilized again. The 140 acres also had a hardwood control treatment after thinning leading to an open understory that is easy to see through and move through in many places.

Closer to Mill Creek, the land is more strongly rolling to steep. Slopes are dominated by mature hardwood. Red oak, white oak and American beech are abundant. On the north side of Mill Creek is a broad area where the upland slope transitions more gently down into the wide bottomland. Yellow poplar, and sweetgum are dominant in the creek bottom along with maple and ash. Around 63 acres is covered by mature hardwood.

About 5 acres are flooded in an area lying between the main creek channel and steep slopes south of the creek. This area is a mix of dead timber, open water and emergent wetland plants. Geese and ducks are present. It is assumed that the flooding is caused by beaver dams, which are off the property on a neighbor just downstream.

Access across the land is good with internal roads and trails. No internal roads cross Mill Creek, but access comes from public roads on both sides. About six acres are maintained by Duke Power as a powerline right-of-way that is about 100 feet wide and a half mile long within the property. Some small openings of around a quarter acre are scattered along the roads. These are mostly sites used as logging decks. A small part of the bottomland has been kept open as a wildlife area.

Soils are mostly sandy clay loam and are productive for timber and wildlife openings. Over much of the property, soils would be productive for larger fields and pastures if desired. Topography is gently rolling, in many areas but steeper along the transition between uplands and the creek bottom. Soil maps indicate that septic perc potential is good for the most accessible parts of the property.

The property has access from 3 public roads. The main gate is on Littlejohn Road with about 1,100 feet of road frontage. A powerline along the road is maintained by Broad River Electric. A natural gas line ends near the neighbor’s house across the road and a new fiber internet line has just been installed. There are no public waterlines nearby. Another gate sits beside Tinsley Road with about 400 feet of frontage and a small electric distribution line. The third gate is near Jerusalem Road. This access crosses a neighbor’s land for about 100 feet between the property line and the public road. The immediate neighborhood is mostly wooded tracts mixed with pastures. Houses are widely scattered in the area. A couple of residences are within sight of the property along Littlejohn Road.

Two plats are recorded with the county which total 241 acres. The portion south of Mill Creek was surveyed in 1960 as 136.4 acres. The northern part is 105 acres surveyed in 1959. County tax map number is 009-00-00-003 000.

The tract is in a very rural setting but close to Spartanburg. The little town of Jonesville is only a stone’s throw away. The tract is about 4 miles from Jonesville, 14 miles from Union, 17 miles from Spartanburg, and 48 miles from Greenville. All distances are approximate road miles to the center of town.

The property is timberland with no improvements and does not have an address. The main gate is on Littlejohn Road (GPS = “Littlejohn Rd, Jonesville, SC 29353”) about a quarter mile north of its junction with Robinson Farm Road.