Recently, our team, along with the Town of Greeleyville and Rivercrest Group, set out on a journey to revitalize the artesian well in Greeleyville. Located in front of the town hall, the well has a rich history and holds great significance to the people of the community. Read below for Rivercrest Group’s Jay Duke’s take on the experience. We believe they did a job WELL done.
Guest contributor
In June of 2021, Rivercrest Water Gardens was contacted by Mr. Gilleon Frieson about the potential of restoring (in some fashion) the flowing well located in the heart of Greeleyville, SC.
After meeting with Mr. Frieson, the mayor of Greeleyville and a handful of concerned citizens, it was noted that at one time, Greeleyville actually had three flowing wells. The well that is located in front of the town hall was the last that flowed water. After the well stopped flowing water naturally, a manual pump was installed that allowed the people of this part of Williamsburg County to still have access to water when they were in town.
The use of the well was enjoyed by EVERYONE.
The well has not been in use (as a true well) for many years now. There have been several efforts over the years to make the well appear to function in one fashion or another, but it was reusing the water that was sitting in the basin of the well.
At the June meeting, the decision was made to make every attempt to restore the original look of the well and to eliminate some of the things that had been added over the years that were not ascetically pleasing. Keep in mind, that in 2021, we were living right in the middle of the COVID pandemic. So, there were MANY roadblocks!!
In May of 2022, all of the components needed to restore the look of the well had arrived.
Removal of as many add-ons as possible was completed. The well basin was back almost to its original form. A water storage module that houses a pumping and filtration system was installed beneath the ground. New plumbing was installed into the original well housing.
Water is recirculated from the water storage module into the well plumbing so that it appears as though the well is constantly flowing as it did years ago. The basin of the well was refinished and an elastomeric material was coated into the inside of the basin to make the basin waterproof. Some landscaping was done around the area to make things a little more ascetically pleasing. The system was turned on and began working without a hitch!
We firmly believe that “where there is water - there is life!” We hope that the restoration of this very important piece of history will bring new life into the town of Greeleyville!!
Jay Duke
Rivercrest Group