“S” is for Saluda River

“S” is for Saluda River. In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Greenville County, near the North Carolina/South Carolina state line, the North and South Saluda Rivers meet to form the Saluda River. Its major tributaries are the Reedy, Little, Bush, and Little Saluda Rivers and Rabon Creek. One of the principal rivers of the Santee River Basin, the Saluda flows southeasterly 170 miles through the Piedmont, joining the Broad River just below the fall line in Columbia to form the Congaree River. The native settlers were primarily Cherokees who farmed along the river and named it “river of corn.” Along the west side of the Saluda River was one of the tribe’s major trading paths. Two sections of the Saluda River—Middle Saluda and Lower Saluda-- have become part of South Carolina’s Scenic Rivers Program.