“Riverbanks not only serves to protect rare and endangered species, but also safeguards a number of South Carolina’s significant historical landmarks,” said Satch Krantz, executive director of Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

Riverbanks has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. Structural remains dating back to the early 1800s can be found throughout the park. On Riverbanks’ grounds, bus tour participants will visit the Saluda Mill ruins and view the granite abutments of the burned State Road Bridge, which was destroyed during Sherman’s March in 1865.

The Saluda Mill, one of South Carolina’s oldest textile mills, was also set ablaze by Sherman and his troop. The ruins of the mill can be found along Riverbanks’ Garden River Trail. In an effort to further educate the community about the historic significance of the Saluda Mills, an Interpretive Center was built adjacent to the mill site in 1999. Artifacts, descriptions and graphics are displayed in the Center at Riverbanks.

Other activities on February 7 will include the Grand Ball, Historic Columbia bus tour, Sherman’s Left Wing bus tour, Civil War Expo and a re-enactment of Union cannons firing on the State House. Tickets for the bus tour are $20 and must be purchased in advance. To buy tickets, contact Trieste Pinzini at 803.217.0071 or at gccwa@knappagency.com. Tickets may also be ordered from the Web site http://www.columbiaslongestdays.com/, where more information is available about “Columbia’s Longest Days: February 1865.”