Why this famous South Carolina landmark has been fenced in

The public is being forced to keep its distance from one of South Carolina’s most famous landmarks and favorite tourist locations.

A fence has been built around the water tower shaped like a peach, better known as the Peachoid. Located in Gaffney off I-85, the 135-foot water tower was built in 1981 to reflect the importance peach orchards played in the Gaffney economy.

The black chain-link fence with barbed wire on top was added recently in an effort to protect the Peachoid from vandalism.

The fence is approximately 6-feet tall and about 150 feet away from the base of the Peachoid, which was famously featured in the Netflix program “House of Cards.”

There is no word whether the vandalism was a response to the accusations against the show’s former star, Kevin Spacey, or if people were spray painting and carving messages into the Peachoid because they wanted to be a part of its notoriety.

“It’s just sad that we had to do this because of vandalism,” Board of Public Works general manager Donnie Hardin said, according to goupstate.com, adding the vandalism began escalating a year ago. “I told the board we had to do something. People were inscribing their names into the brown part of it. There’s been vandalism on and off ever since it was built.”

While it’s a source of pride in South Carolina, the Peachoid has gained worldwide fame as a top spot for tourists to take pictures and share them on social media.

Before being fired, even Spacey visited the Peachoid in July 2013 and posted a picture on Twitter.

The Peachoid was a focal plot point in the first season of “House of Cards,” where there was concern that the structure resembles genitals and/or a buttocks. It becomes the subject of a political and potentially legal battle after a teenager crashes her car while texting a joke about the tower’s resemblance.

“We do get calls from people saying that they’ve watched ‘House of Cards’ and they want to know, ‘Do y’all really have a big peach there?’ ” LeighAnn Snuggs, the director of marketing and tourism for the city of Gaffney, said in 2013.

Now those visitors will have to admire the Peachoid from afar – at least most of the time.

The public will have access to the Peachoid at specific times during the day, Hardin said to goupstate.com, adding that he anticipates the $14,000 fence will be permanent.

It remains to be seen whether that will stop the flood of Peachoid posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more.

This story was originally published February 18, 2018 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Why this famous South Carolina landmark has been fenced in."