#DYK that Georgia grew over 30,000 tons of peaches in 2019? That’s why they’re nicknamed “The Peach State.”
Did you also know that South Carolina grows more peaches than Georgia? (Don’t believe us? In 2019, we grew almost double what Georgia did.) That’s why, according to Twitter user Woody Whitehurst, we have the trophy.
And by trophy we mean, a larger-than-life rendition of a peach on a water tower about 45 minutes down the road in Gaffney, SC (that has debatably looked like part of the human anatomy throughout its history).
Since it’s peach season and all, we wanted to give y’all some fast facts from the SC Picture Project about this local landmark that are just peachy.
🍑 The themed water tower was the idea of Jack Millwood, a member of the Gaffney Board of Public Works.
🍑 Built in 1981 in ~5 months
🍑 World’s largest peach
🍑 The Peachoid’s leaf weighs seven tons.
🍑 Holds one million gallons of water
🍑 The colors are designed to reflect the region’s variety of peaches.
🍑 The Peachoid’s original artist, Peter Freudenberg, used 50 gallons of paint and 20+ colors to create his design. (In 2015, Ohio muralist Eric Henn repainted the giant peach, then it was repainted again in 2017 by Southern Corrosion who collaborated with the original artist.)
🍑 The water tower enjoyed national attention after being featured in Netflix’s House of Cards series.
🍑 Can other water towers across the US compare? Check out some other creative tanks here.
🍑 Click here to see a map of other water towers across our state.
Does this have you craving some peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream? Check out our guide of six places to pick peaches within driving distance of Greenville.
