Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 3, Town Ruins – Arched Bridge & Power Plant

From the store, we made our way towards the area where the arched bridge over the raceway and the power plant were located.

The arched bridge and power plant are located to the south and slightly west of the store.

On our way, we stumbled over this beautiful colony of bracket fungi.

The area where the arched bridge and power plant were located was somewhat overgrown and it would have been easy to give up the search. We got a glimpse of stonework supports and decided to try to get through to get a better look.

We rounded a chain-link fence and were rewarded with a glimpse of the arched bridge. Certainly worth a closer look. It’s a pity that the bridge is enclosed by a fence but this is probably necessary to preserve it since it is vulnerable.

A view of the bridge. We have dropped down into a ditch which was the raceway to bring water from the Oconee River to the power plant. We walked carefully in the leaves. It was still warm enough for snakes to be about and Timber/Canebreak Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) could 'hide' in plain sight in these leaves.

A closer view of the brickwork on the arch of the bridge.

We climbed up out of the raceway and were treated to an overview of the power plant foundations. A wall to the right and supports for the floor.

A closer view of the wall to the right of the previous photo.

Looking straight at the wall on the right. This view shows the excellent stone masonry.

*****

A closer view of a couple of the center supports.

This arched structure is partially buried in the ground. I don’t know what it is but it's another excellent example of decorative stonework.

From here we set off to the Oconee River to look at the foundations for the bridge that crossed the river and then back up to the ledge to the remains of the superintendent’s house.
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Resources:
Trip map (Google): Scull Shoals
Friends of Scull Shoals: A Brief History of Scull Shoals Mill Village

Related posts:
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 1, Oconee River – Sandy Creek
- Field Trip: Scull Shoals. Part 2, Town Ruins – Store
- Field Trip: Oconee-Greene County. Part 1, Elders Mill Covered Bridge
- Field Trip: Oconee-Greene County. Part 2, Sand Pit – Ward Rd
- Field Trip: Oconee-Greene County. Part 3. Oconee National Forest & Fishing Creek