To a lover of history, Ridge Spring holds an irresistible charm. Here is a community that was settled over 100 years ago and is still populated to some extent by descendants of the original families. Many generations have lived side by side, loved the same soil and have offered their loyalty to the Ridge.
Ridge Spring is situated on what is known as the "fall line" which bisects the town in the approximate trace of the Southern Railroad. The Sand Hills just below were dunes from the ancient prehistoric sea which covered the entire low country.
Above the "fall line" is the beginning of the Piedmont, which extends North to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Ridge Spring was originally a part of Old Edgefield District, later Edgefield County. Since the Constitutional Convention of 1895, it has been a part of the then-formed Saluda County.
Altough the Town was incorporated in 1882, documents show there was a post office in Ridge Spring, called the Ridge, in 1806. The first settlers in the area were here over 100 years before the Town's incorporation. According to the 1980 Census, the Town has a population of 699 and there are 360 housing units located within the corporate limits.
There are few communities left like the Ridge, communities of people who have been born in and nourished by rural living. It remains agrarian and simple. Yet it is aware of the complex world, urban, scientific and sometimes glossy. Whether natives of Ridge Spring have gone afar to leave their mark or remain to live a simple life, there is a pride in heritage that runs in the veins of all who have been touched by The Ridge.
Portions of this where copied from History of Ridge Spring compiled in 1982 by permission of authors, Mrs. Maynard Spigener Watson and Mrs. Fred Calvin Alexander. All of this document with the exception of a few minor changes where taken from the program of the very first festival in Ridge Spring called the "Ridge Spring Centennial"
This shows that what was then is still now and that irresistible charm is still strong in the hearts of all who visit Ridge Spring.
