How do you get into The Downlow?
We have not confirmed it. The Downlow is in the directory because it calls itself a speakeasy, and that is the whole of what we can stand behind about its door.
The drinks at The Downlow
How the venue describes itself: “Find information, resources and relevant links for appalachianalehouse.com. This domain may be for sale.” (from its own website, retrieved 9 October 2026)
Beyond what the venue publishes we have not verified a list, so what follows is the period rather than the bar: Mary Pickford, El Presidente, and Hotel Nacional Special are all drinks of this era, and each links to its origin and its build.
Where The Downlow sits
The Downlow is in Pickens, South Carolina, in the county of the same name, in the South Atlantic of the United States.
This is currently the only verified hidden bar our directory lists in Pickens. If you know another, tell us.
South Carolina holds 17 listed venues in this directory. See them all on our South Carolina speakeasy guide.
Prohibition in South Carolina
South Carolina did not wait for the federal government. Statewide prohibition took effect here in 1915, five years before the Eighteenth Amendment came into force nationally on 17 January 1920. By the time the Volstead Act was being enforced across the country, South Carolina already had an established illegal trade and the habits that went with it.
More on the period in our history of Prohibition in South Carolina.
What the newspapers recorded in South Carolina
Searching the Library of Congress run of South Carolina newspapers for speakeasy, blind pig and bootlegger across 1920 to 1933 returns dated pages anyone can open. These are from South Carolina:
- The Union daily times, August 9, 1920 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Abbeville press and banner, October 21, 1921 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The county record, April 20, 1922 — read the page at the Library of Congress
- The Bamberg herald, May 18, 1922 — read the page at the Library of Congress
Planning a visit
You can reach The Downlow by phone on (220) 244-0866, through its own website, and on Facebook.
The address is 205 East Main Street, Pickens, SC 29671. Open in Google Maps.
What we have confirmed
For The Downlow we hold street address, telephone number, official website, and social accounts. We do not yet hold opening hours, a published drinks list, an online booking link, or a listed-building record.
It is in the directory because the description in the source data describes it as a speakeasy.
Two independent open datasets, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, both carry this venue at this location. Agreement between them is the strongest existence check we can make without visiting.
The source data classifies the premises as a pub.