Gaffney in Cherokee County is located in upstate South Carolina. It’s just a short drive from Spartanburg or Charlotte. It has a lot those bigger cities lack. Gaffney claims the title “The Peach Capital of South Carolina” because Cherokee County at one time produced more peaches annually than all of Georgia, which claims the title “the Peach State.”
Gaffney has a lot more than peaches to draw visitors. There are two national parks and a national trail in Cherokee County. And, there’s Peach Haven, a Spacious Skies participating campground that’s a great place to stay. Here are the fun attractions to visit in Gaffney. Of course, do munch on a few of those juicy peaches while there.
1. The Peachoid
You know you have arrived when you spot The Peachoid, a 135-foot-tall water tower shaped like a peach. It’s visible for miles and referred to by locals as “The Peach.”
2. Visitors’ Center/Art Gallery
The Gaffney Visitors Center is the perfect place to start your trip. The Visitors’ Center, located in a former historic post office, offers much more than help locating the best things to do. It’s also an art gallery with rotating exhibits. Plus, there’s a mini-museum about the Revolutionary War with a room-sized map on the floor depicting sites related to the Revolutionary War.
3. Cowpens National Battlefield
One of the most important battles in history occurred here. If the Patriots had not won at the Battle of Cowpens, the southern USA states might still be English territory. When you visit Cowpens National Battlefield, be sure to watch the videos about the battle and then walk the battlefield. The main video tells the story of the Cowpens Battle based on the journal of one of the soldiers who fought in it as a 17-year-old militiaman. The video is the story of him telling his little grandson, Sammy, what it was like fighting there that day. The other is a factual overview of the war in general.
After I walked around the battlefield with its placards and metal sculptures telling what happened where, I drove to the Robert Scruggs House, an 1820s frontier house. You can drive the park road to it or access it by the Green River Road hiking trail.
4. Kings Mountain Battlefield National Park
To see the other famous battle that happened in Cherokee County, drive about twenty minutes to the Kings Mountain Battlefield National Park in Blacksburg, close to the North Carolina line. This battle was fought between Loyalist and Patriot American militia. The only British soldier involved was Major Patrick Ferguson, who recruited Loyalist troops. In this area, allegiance was divided; some people favored independence, and others remained loyal to England. Fought on October 7th, 1780, the battle of Kings Mountain was the first major patriot victory after the British invasion of Charleston.
The Visitors’ Center has a museum inside explaining all the factors in the battle. Outside, you can hike a one-and-a-half-mile paved trail with markers and monuments on the battlefield trail. Do not miss the marker for Fergerson’s grave. He was killed in the battle here.
Check at the visitors center in Kings Mountain National Military Park about Howser House. It’s a 1803 stone house built by a Revolutionary War veteran in a remote area of the park. It’s only open to the public once or twice a year.
Kings Mountain State Park, in neighboring York County, adjourns the national park site. It’s a great place for hiking, biking, or camping.
5. Michael Gaffney’s Log Home
I always enjoy visiting 19th-century log cabins. Michael Gaffney came to South Carolina from Ireland and fought as a captain in the Revolution. He moved to what is now Gaffney and built his home in 1804 and a store here. The town was first called Gaffney’s Crossroads and later Gaffney’s Old Field.
The present log home was recreated using many of the logs from his original home and feels very authentic. It’s a one-room cabin with a loft with many artifacts that tell his story. Seeing the quill sitting in a bottle of ink at the foot of the four-poster bed tells me Gaffney was literate, unlike many frontier settlers then.
There’s a candelabrum with six candles hanging over the wooden dining table. The fireplace has a marble facing. There’s a pie cabinet with tinwork on its doors, antique quilts, and a few animal pelts that are part of the furnishings. You can see that the Gaffney family has some status in the community.
6. Cherokee County History & Arts Museum
The Cherokee County History and Arts Museum has exhibits telling Cherokee County’s story. The exhibits tell about the coming of the railroads and cotton mills. I loved the old look used to weave material. One street in downtown Gaffney is recreated with many of the artifacts from former businesses that were there. There is a recreated tenant farmer’s home. The cotton and peach crops helped soften the blow of the Great Depression here.
Exhibits tell about the evolution of race tracks in Cherokee County from early horse racing to moonshining, which led to NASCAR racing. Gaffney’s Cherokee Speedway still carries on the tradition with races usually held on weekends.
Exhibits about Native Americans include an antique quilt, “Freedom Flowers,” made by a Native American woman named Bluesparrow. She used it to help runaway slaves to freedom. Legend says she would put a slave baby in her laundry basket, cover it with the quilt, and then walk into the woods to hand the child over to its waiting parents. She also used it to signal which path to take to escape based on how her flower panels faced.
There is one room dedicated to heroes of war or politics. It covers wars from the Revolution and the Civil War to the World Wars to terrorism in America. There are uniforms and information. One of my favorites here is the small three-pounder Grasshopper Cannon. It was called that because it bounced and jumped when pulled over rough terrain.
The museum has classrooms and spaces you can rent for birthday parties or other events. Out in the yard, there is the 1887 Possum Trot Schoolhouse and some antique farm machines. I could have spent hours browsing this museum.
7. Cherokee Veterans Museum
For more about the county’s war history, visit the Cherokee Veterans Museum. It’s located beside Cherokee County Veterans Appreciation Park, where there are recreation facilities and a swimming pool. There’s a monument and stone panels in the park that honor Cherokee County military veterans. Outside the museum, you’ll find helicopters, planes, jeeps, and a reconstructed watch tower dedicated to Sgt. Ed Decamp Sossamon, killed in action on April 16, 1970. Inside, there are artifacts from all the wars in which the USA was involved. Many of the artifacts were donated by local veterans.
8. Murals
Gaffney has some impressive murals, especially on Limestone Street, the town’s main street. On the wall of the Gaffney House of Prayer, there’s a mural of George Washington praying at Valley Forge. It’s interactive. We scanned the code to learn about the mural and even heard a reading of the prayer Washington said.
There’s an 80-foot-wide and 35-foot-tall mural called “Get into Gaffney”, featuring peaches, train tracks, and Japanese cherry blossoms painted by Eli Blasko and Russell Bannanthat displaying the history of Gaffney.
Another mural located nearby depicts the Battle of Kings Mountain. There is one titled “Freedom Was Won Here.” It highlights the Overmountain Victory Trail from the Battle of Cowpens to the Battle of Kings Mountain.
A mural depicting African American roots in Gaffney is in what used to be Gaffney’s Black Business District and is now Glymph Memorial Garden.
9. Historic Downtown
Driving around the historic downtown, I found more murals as I browsed among the antique shops, boutiques, and restaurants. Something not usually found on a city’s main street is Peach City Brewery. It’s a family-friendly brewery with outside seating in the heart of downtown.
Every first Friday from May through September, the Historic Downtown blocks off Limestone Street for a Food Truck party, including a DJ and some craft vendors. I met one Disney-trained artist who does some cute caricatures while you pose for her. The drawing makes an unusual souvenir.
10. The Big E Entertainment Outlet
The Big E Entertainment Outlet is a pay-for-play family entertainment center with something for any interest. They have a bowling alley, arcade games for every age, a theater showing first-run movies, bumper cars, laser tag, and a mini golf course. For snacks while you play, there is the Big Eat and Play Café offering popcorn, giant pretzels, hot dogs, pizza, wings, and other treats.
11. Food & Drink
At Daddy Joe’s Beach House BBQ & Grill, the barbeque is special, but the closest to a beach are some surfboards in the exposed beam attic.
Harold’s Restaurant on historic N. Limestone Street doesn’t look like it is famous, but it’s been featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and several other TV shows.
Brett’s Bakery and Café won the Golden Peach Award from the Gaffney Ledger for readers’ choice of Best Bakery in Cherokee County in 2021. One taste of her ice cream or sweet treats shows you why. She also had a food truck you will find at the Foodie Friday events downtown.
Gaffney is always growing and improving. In 2025, an interactive museum, Carolina Rising, A Revolutionary Experience, is opening.
