Notorious vandalism at Bald Rock in South Carolina stirs outrage. Can it be stopped?

The tradition of vandalizing Bald Rock Heritage Preserve in Upstate South Carolina has gone on for so long that many people know it by the names “Graffiti Rock” and “Painted Rock.”

Multiple generations have grown up spray-painting the 450 million-year-old rock face, along with using it for parties, communal bonfires and impromptu fireworks displays.

Retirees Susan and John Jordan say they can see the fires at night from their nearby home, and they note nothing about the activity is legal or safe.

On Nov. 6, the Jordans and 15 volunteers will make their second trip to the state-owned site to scrape away the layers of graffiti with pressure washers. The famously bare ridge top is about 25 miles northwest of Greenville, South Carolina.

“For the longest time, we looked at Bald Rock from our home and I wondered why nothing was ever done to curtail the graffiti, which became more garish and obscene during the pandemic,” Susan Jordan told McClatchy News.

“The pandemic made them even bolder,” she said. “There are a lot of passionate hikers, conservationists and outdoors people who understand this is a gift we have to preserve. We’re not getting a new one. It’s our responsibility to take care of it.”

In August, the Jordans formed a nonprofit, the Friends of Bald Rock Heritage Preserve, which its Facebook page says is “working to protect and preserve one of the most breath-taking panoramic views in South Carolina.”

The work began last month with volunteers picking up 500 pounds of trash, including condoms and syringes. Broken glass was plentiful, too, piled in spots like dead leaves in the fall.

“And not 24 hours later, there was trash back on the rock,” Susan Jordan said.

However, that didn’t stop the group from bringing four pressure washers to the rock to peel away two acres of graffiti. It took three days, with state officials supporting the effort by closing the site to the public.

“Some were angry at us, saying that graffiti is what Bald Rock is all about,” John Jordan said in a news release. “Others questioned graffiti being illegal since it has been done for decades. Some had no idea what a heritage preserve is or its importance.”

On Nov. 6, the group said it will return with six pressure washers to wash away the remaining graffiti on two more acres of the rock surface.

“It literally makes you sick”

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve is a state-owned ”165-acre complex of granite outcroppings, forests, headwater streams, and rare species of plants,” according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. On a clear day, visitors can see 30 miles away, Greg Lucas with the Department of Natural Resources at Clemson told McClatchy News.

It is actually closed to the public from sunset to sunrise, and signs in the parking lot warn of a $465 fine or 30 days in jail for those caught painting the rock and littering. Fires, alcohol consumption and fireworks are also prohibited, the signs say.

So why is the graffiti and littering still happening?

For one thing, it’s easy to reach along U.S. 276, a major highway north of Greenville.

“People don’t have to do anything to get here. They just pull off the road with beer, fireworks and stuff for a campfire,” Lucas said.

“It’s just very tempting for people to do things they shouldn’t. It literally makes you sick to your stomach when you see it,” Lucas said. “How can people see this beautiful spot and think it’s okay to throw paint on it? Some actually call it Painted Rock, it’s been going on so long.”

Another contributing factor is a lack of state staff to guard it 24-7, he said. The region has 18 heritage preserves.

“We’ve handed out more tickets than you can shake a stick at, but you can’t be there all the time,” Lucas said. “(Game wardens) have a whole county to cover and they can’t be here all the time.”

The Department of Natural Resources is supporting work by the Friends of Bald Rock Heritage Preserve, calling the nonprofit a partner in preservation efforts.

However, it’s still unclear how a volunteer group can fully halt a popular tradition that may date back 50 years.

What is Bald Rock?

The rock atop Bald Rock Heritage Preserve is part of the 450 million-year-old Table Rock gneiss formation that includes a string of “bald rock” ridgetops in the Upstate, according to state officials.

When ancient continents collided, “the granite rocks ... were squeezed, faulted, and folded,” Robby Morrow, piedmont geologist with the Department of Natural Resources, told McClatchy News.

“During this time, approximately 300 million years ago, these rocks were still several kilometers beneath the surface of the Earth,” Morrow said.

“Over the next 250 million years, the mountains weathered away, and the rocks beneath them slowly rose to the surface,” he added. “It is only in the last 20 million years or so that the rocks that produce the likes of Bald Rock Heritage Preserve, Table Rock, Caesar’s head, and others along the Blue Ridge escarpment, reached the heights that they are today.”

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve is one big history lesson, he said, and those who “deface the rocks are keeping us from understanding how they got here and how the planet will look in the future.”

What’s next for Bald Rock?

The Jordans are retired clinical social workers who moved to the Greenville area after working 30 years with nonprofits in Charlotte.

As a result, Susan Jordan said she knows Friends of Bald Rock Heritages Preserve is facing an uphill climb in trying to forge a coalition of volunteers, local governments and corporate backers.

A recent survey showed the site sees 200 to 250 visitors a day, she said, so it’s clear Bald Rock is popular.

“This is a huge responsibility, but it just struck a chord. It’s the right time and both of us immediately felt attached to this mission,” Susan Jordan said.

“We began having meetings and everybody had horror stories about the crazy things going on at Bald Rock, and everybody acknowledged it was a tall order,” she said. “People have talked for years about doing something. If you think it out, this vandalism is premeditated. They had to think to stop and buy spray paint.”

The nonprofit’s longterm plan, she said, is a redesign of the area, including a new parking area, education signage and security systems.

“The security system is key. A small nonprofit can’t pull this off. It will take a coalition of corporate partners to pull it if off. The county will also need to get involved, the visitor’s bureau,” Susan Jordan said.

“I think there are a tremendous number of people in Greenville County and the city who love bald rock,” she continued. “They have grown up coming to this spot to celebrate family events and even take wedding photos. There hasn’t been a concrete way in the past for people to express that support and contribute to restoration.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 7:43 AM with the headline "Notorious vandalism at Bald Rock in South Carolina stirs outrage. Can it be stopped?."