Enter the Farm

The land had a long and colorful history before The Happy Berry was founded in 1979 with its first planting in 1981. As you enter the farm the driveway is actually a part of the old road that led down to the eastern capital of the Cherokee Indians in Keowee town. Arrowheads and old musket balls are common around the farm. The musket balls may be from a battle of the Cherokee Indian war of 1761 fought with the colony. At one point during this war a young lieutenant, Andrew Pickens, was entrapped by the Cherokees, possibly in the hollow on the backside of the farm. (For more about this, read History of the Land & The Battle of Gap Hill by Walker Miller) The woods that surround the farm were later to be cotton fields in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The cotton fields were abandoned due to erosion and the boll weevil and are now about 90 years grown up.

Old tenant house - The farm is part of an original 2600 acre land grant from the king of England. This building site was the tenant house for the farm. There was an old mule barn and a few fruit trees including blueberries when the Happy Berry was established in 1979. It has burned down at least once and was rebuilt prior to 1937. In 1937 a room was added on the west end. In 1952 the back porch was added then enclosed. Yep! it has been sitting (balanced) on those rocks since prior to 1937.

Front Porch - The front porch of the old tenant house where sales take place always seems to have a breeze. Berries are purchased by the pound. We provide containers but we appreciate it when you bring your own. There is always fresh, cool, ice water on the porch.

Look out over blueberries and blackberries - View from the front porch of the tenant house out over the blueberries. You can see blackberries in the distance. Everything is trickle irrigated and the grasses middles are mowed. The blackberries were started in 1989 and figs were stared in 1998.

Walkways are named - The walkways are named and all the rows have numbers. After checking-in, some one will explain where the picking front is by giving directions down a particular walkway till you get to row number so-an-so. Different rows are different varieties to promote pollination. We pick in a front because of quality. This allows rows to ripen while we pick others.

Return - The view walking back up "Butterscotch Ruffles Way" from picking "down in the Centurions" one of the 6 varieties of blueberries grown at the Happy Berry. The varieties vary in their date of ripening. The Centurions generally are last to be harvested.

Sin bucket - Contributions to the "Sin Bucket" go to a local charity. Beside the sin bucket is the farm bell. Those that "sin" may ring the bell once. Actually the bell is communication system for customers to warn of dangerous weather, request service and other things, so stop and read the sign on both sides.