The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, November 12, 1970, Image 45
I
Beaverdam Church Has 163-Year History
HOPEWELL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Hopewell Methodist Church
Site Bought For 10 Shillings
BY DOWNS
M -NR'-i-
f r . ; ears. Miss Carrie Bell
W rkman served 21 years. The
The first written roc rd w.>
present .rganist is Mrs. Tho-
have of Hope'.
veil Metisidist
mas Milam, daughter -if Mrs.
Church is the
deed recorded
Alice Boyd Williams.
in Laurens C«>i
mty, Clerk of
Court’s Office,
April 12, 1803
Hie historical facts -if the
when Thomas J
'Jins. ') deeded
church and c immunity were
two (2) acres
f L.nd as well
prepared by Mrs. Roy Craw-
as the timlier
-n the said
ford with the help f "ther
acres and the u
se f a cei tain
members - f the church.
spring to the foil
•v, mg trustees:
Charles Hewit,
Hugh O’Neal,
T lie present pasUr of the
JoUi Sasc"n am
1 William Wil-
churr-h is Lev. J ilin M. Bank-
son. Tills deed
\v ,iv 'A ;tn ee 1
nn ;.t.
by Matthew J tm
i ; rii.t^ jjKi
Mikell Dalryrnp!
le. The tr.-ns-
T RM: B PASTORS
action was nu
!• f r Un '10
shillings an. ui
itir, t .! .ut
U; i - W. w. Jones
$2.00 in *ur m
Th- t;:r-
U, - i.e rge M. Boyd
ber was t l c
a. - . t . re'd
J. J. Clarksnn
a church UiiMm
an 1 it a as t
w. H. Whittaker
be called tN '
if X f ♦ ^ ,
M. !h P -ser
H -use.
’A. T. Giltiert
A. J. Gibson
Charles ii--
d, f l
M. C. Banks
above inentiune.
itruM- ,
w. H. I igr-tte
buried in the
L Lis U Ce-
A. H. Arul
meterv, ii'.w kn
an ...i th- 1: '• -
R. R. Dagnal
*ell Cemeterv,
in 15!*.. Th ni.o
Dalrymple,
f the wit-
l .7 - A. ( . Legette
nesses, was the
• ere,it tTali'l-
lob" - C. H. Pritchard
father 1 Mr. T.
I. i;» t: ier s Ul,
1887 - I. P. Phillips
whose fanuh is
still c iinect-
1885 - E. P. Taylor
ed with the church.
1890 - E. A. Wilkes
185! - O. N. Roundtree
The first rec
• rd se have f
1892 - P. b. liigr iLim
1895 - C. ii. Pritchard
W. P. barre
W.E. Barro ''diet
D. P. Boyd
J. Stevenson
S. Lesley
1901 - J. I-. Gibson
1902 - W. H. Thr wer
1903 - J. H. Copeland
J. ’S. Wright
J. T. Miller
D. P. Boyd
W. l’. Bauknight
Murry
. h. Kil.'o
W. Shealy
S. Pvtru-:
! . Bulhnrt r;
Me.iP < K
s. Jones
A
P V, • if.
189C
1897
1897 - J.
1899 - A.
1901
1905
1907
1911 -
1915 •
1918 ■
1921 ■
1925
1 •32
153b
1539
15-11
1M-5
1045
1945
1550
1954
1959
19C3
1904
1908
1969
r. BauMi:c '
J. W. Giles
J. : . Kin.o' d
J. i.. Pmeliart
C. i . Panin.
k. McAlister
I. P. Medley
Samuel Pel r ini:
James McAlister
Courtesy of
MRS. RANDOLPH MOORE
The 1807 Bethel Association
minutes state that Beaverdam
Church was organized Aug. 15,
1807; Elders Joshua Palmer,
Reuben Kelly, and Henry Hitt
were present and there were 59
members. The church united
with the Bethel Association at
its meeting at Cross Roads
Meeting House, Newberry
District, on Oct 3, 1807.
Elder Palmer served as
pastor for one year and then
moved to Indiana. He was a
long time pastor of I>angston
Church and also of Warrior
Creek of which he was the
founder and he also served
other churches shorter periods.
He was an Englishman, of
limited education, somewhat
singular in manners and “a
3 anger to pride,' but with
considerable ability and an
earnest and eloquent speaker
Joseph Babb, a member of the
church, was then ordained and
became the next pastor
On April 29, 1814, Zachanah
Bailey ‘for the great regard 1
have for religion and promotion
of same" gave the church three
sues of land on which was "the
new brick meeting house," it
being part of the tract of land on
which John Bailey then lived;
such timber as would do for
boards and rails was reserved.
The plat shows a right of way to
the spring and also a graveyard
just behind the church land.
Witnesses were James Young
the surveyor and William
Nelson This was possibly the
first brick church building in
the county Mr. W T Benjamin
was told that the west end of the
present building is on the site of
this building
Zachanah Bailey was
pmbablv a nephew of Mr.
Baiiey who gave the Little
Kiver Church land. He and his
wife, Winiford Coleman, are
buried in the cemetery here;
twenty-one members of their
family are now members of this
church; the late Rev W B.
Wharton and his son Rev. M. T
Wharton, well known Methodist
ministers are members of the
fanuly.
Beaverdam Baptist Church
In 1817 the Chestnut Ridge
members were organized as an
arm of the church, but Elder
Babb moved to Alabama in
December 1821, and a few days
later Chestnut Ridge Church
was organized. The two
congregations had 97 members
in 1821. The few associational
delegates of the period which
we have were Zachariah Bailey,
Edward Strange, Josiah
Fowler, Joshua Teague, with
three, Charles G. Franks,
Daniel Johnson, and Robert
McNees from the Chestnut
Ridge arm
For the next two years the
church was supplied by Elder
Chesley Davis of Newberry
County. He was a relative of
Rev. E. W Davis, pastor of the
church exactly one hundred
years later. New delegates were
William Nelson, M. W
Christman, Enoch Brazeal, an
ordained minister, and W. H.
Stokes.
In the fall of 1823 Elder Babb
returned to South Carolina and
resumed the pastorate of the
church.
fjl a.;
I hr:
• 1 V'
J.W.
membership -ajs when Miss
Mirgaret Miller, :• iter hi -r.
as “Aunt Mtrg.ir-t Buy'!", .is
sister f Mes.- r . I
Miller, m 4her f
and gr m In. (her
Speake, joined!:- j luis-.
ciety sometin.--: ,ii un! 1825.
There beiiu’ r. hurch luiMinc
at that time, - ruces were
cxiducted under an -.rt-r. Ac
cording to rec T ls ? un i, the
present building was c instruct
ed between 18 3 5-1840. The
money was raised f r the build
ing by contributions of farm
produce turned ver t a trea
surer, who was thought to be
Coleman Carlisle. Mr. Carlisle
Is buried at Salem Church near
“Young’s Cross Hoads’. The
building stood as erected until
remodeled in 1925 under Rev.
W. S. Pettus’ pastorate.
Between 1840-1877 we have
no records. The district was
changed several times during
this period and it is thought
that the records were lost. It
was first known as tho Bush
River District, next Cokesbury
and now it is the Greenwood
District. We do know that dur
ing that time services were
conducted.
Hopewell has maintained a
Sunday School about 91 years.
The first we know positively
about is when Mr. Charles
Workman was superintendent
in 1877 for five years. Mr.
Workman was followed by John
Miller, John Smith, W. D. Boyd,
J. M. Monroe, 1). R. Crawford,
J. L. Dickert, J. Roy Craw
ford and W. P. Dickson. The
present superintendent is Wil
liam Young. The present secre
tary and treasurer -if the Sun
day School is Downes Monroe,
who has served 35 years.
Sandy Springs Church
Started Before 1875
! rgmul Sandy Springs
Church building was situated
near Highway N . 49 and only a
sh rt distance where it now
stand- n Highway No. 308. It
is th ught that the Id church
build.ng was near a spring a-
r an d which was 1 ts f pretty
whit- sand and the sp t t-ecame
kn wn as Sandy Springs.
The Id building was a large
tw st ry structure and was
used as a scho 1 house and Ur
van us ther community acti
vities. A ladies club known as
The Grange" meet there < ne
night each week.
Finally, the need f a sep
arate building Ur the church
was realized by the trustees
and ther members, and on Jan
uary 9, 1875, the Board - f
Trustees comprised f William
Leak J seph Leak, Whitfield
G' odwin and J<>hn Miller, pur
chased for the congregatn-n a-
b< ut an acre - f land from James
M nro Donnan fur the sum of $15
and to be used as the site for
a new church building.
The title to the land was
signed in the-pre.--ence fGe rce
D'-nnan and W. C G dwin and
rec-rded ;n the rec rU at the
Laurens C unty C urt H use.
The timber used in the build
ing f the church was cut and
sawed n the J. M D nnan
place and - nly the Idest and
largest trees were used The
Rev D. Pettus B yd. the first
past r f Sandy Springs, dr ve
the team t haul the 1 gs t the
saw mill f
Much enthusiasm was sh'-wii
by the past- r and members in
preparing the lumber which was
to be used to erect a new
building It is said that three
brothers by the name - f Price
did the actual construction but
no record is available as t the
total cost of the finished work
The following amusing st ry
has lived through the years as
an “happening atSandySprings
in the early days The Id-
timers around remember the
story well, and it grew - ut of
an incident that to- kplace while
Revival services were in pro
gress the week f August 29,
1886
The services were being held
the new building with the
ist r the Rev D. Pettus Boyd
charge, and a blind evange-
Lst by the name f McElhaney / vitations.
had c> me to assist him.
round many homes in the com
munity. In Charleston much of
the city was demolished The
next morning another tremor
was felt.
The effect of all this - n the
Revival was something like ma
gic. The evangelists no longer
had to beg the people to come
forward when they gave the in-
The church united with the
Reedy River Association at
Green Pond Church near
Woodruff on Speteinber 22, 1828.
There was a revival throughout
the land around 1830, and the
church reported 145 baptisms in
the years 1829-1834 inclusive.
The association first met here
in 1831. An outdoor meeting
place known as the stand was
always arranged to ac
commodate the large crowds at
the meetings. Many years later
the word arbor was used, but at
this period slabs were probably
placed under the trees for seats
and the word stand evidently
referred to the speakers’
platform; there was preaching
here throughout the meeting
while the business was carried
on in the house. The meetings
began on Friday morning w ith a
sermon at the stand: after an
intermission, business began in
the house and was concluded on
Monday. Sunday was devoted
entire!} to preaching, and in
these early years The Lord's
Supper was often observed
The record says there were
four sermons here on Sunday
and "we witnessed in the ser
vices of this day an ex
traordinary excitement in the
congregation such as we have
not been accustomed to see on
After a night >r two i f fer
vent preaching and earnest in
vitations t come Urward for
prayer, the past r was disap
pointed with the poor response
and felt rather keenly the bur
den of the work he was carry
ing "n for the church. So, as
the stry goes, on Tuesday-
night, August 31, 1886, he pray
ed that the Lord do something
t- stir the people ut f their
C'irnplacency even if it took an
earthquake t d < .t The ser
vice was dismissed and out
side the people stond in groups
talking about the pastor spray
er and remarking that they
would not be scared into join
ing thechurch are going forward
for prayer.
But before the people reach
ed their homes that night the
earth began to shake. Wells
lined with rocks and the chim-.
neys were badly damaged a-
o r> .-4 »>, T* O ~
0.1* pc ^
Some of Gal* paS
sent officers, who served un
tiringly are: W. D. Boyd, H.
B. Workman, George T. Brown,
C. R. Workman, J. F. Beden-
baugh, G. F. Buford, J. L.
Dickert, C. V. Monroe, Luther
Young, Richard Buford, Char
les R. Workman and Marion
Workman. The present trea
surer of the church is Hugh
Bonds Workman, who has
served for 35 years.
Mrs. Alice Boyd Williams
was the first organist. Her
work was taken up by Mrs.
C. R. Workman, who served
such occasions, which indicated
to us that The Spirit of the Lord
was with us.”
A sketch of Beaverdam and
most of the other churches is
printed in the association
minutes of 1835 and 1837; some
of this record is taken from it
First mention of pastor’s salary
and Sunday Schools was in the
Thirties. Post Offices were first
shown at this time also and
Mountville was the Beaverdam
post office.
Elder Babb passed to his
reward on April 29, 1843, about
70 years of age. In addition to
his thirty-three years at
Beaverdam and Chestnut
Ridge, he served about ten
years at Bethabara and four
years each at Poplar Springs
and Rabun Creek, and there is
some evidence that he preached
at the Quaker Meeting House,
now Union Church. He was
moderator of the Reedy River
Association from 1830 until his
death. Most of his ministry was
in a day when preachers were
not paid and when there was
little response to the message;
be seems to have waited eight
years at Chestnut Ridge for his
first convert
The church record book dates
from February 1878. There is a
constitution of nineteen articles
outlining rules of procedure and
duties of members; these relate
to church attendance, support
of the church. Sabbath ob
servance, evil companions, and
one bans dancing. Discipline
was not as strict as in some
other churches. Church ser
vices were on the third Sunday
and preceding Saturday;
changes were made in the
Saturday hour from time to
time, from as early as 10 a. m. to
as late as 3 p.m. And this was
Sun Time, one-half hour slower
than Standard.
In June 1881, Dr. D. A.
Richardson reported that work
on the building was nearing
completion and that money was
needed; $300.00 was reported
raised for repairs. In addition to
the floor, this work probably
included overhead ceiling and
moving the pulpit to west end of
the building, and it was also
decided this year “to order” an
organ, doubtless the first one,
as well as to hire a sexton and
pay him $8.00 a year.
Rev. R. W. Sfeymour was
pastor from 1884-86; he also
served Bethabara, Cross Hill,
and Waterloo, living at Cross
Hill In October 1884 a group,
including the church clerk and
treasurer, was dismissed to
form Waterloo Church. The loss
of these and some others was a
considerable blow to the
church, for there were 104
members at the close of the
pastorate.
Since 1886, a total of 31
pastors has served Beaverdam,
including the present pastor,
Rev. James Carter, who
assumed his pastorship on April
28, 1968.
We have continued to grow
spiritually and much growth is
evident in all areas of our
church life. Our tithes and of
ferings were more during the
t past associational year than
ever in the history of our
church. We have a full
missionary program—one of
the highlights of 1968 was a G.
A. Coronation service—the first
ever held in our church with
Sissy Whelchel crowned as
queen. Also, in May 1968 the Y.
W.A.’s held a White Bible
Service honoring Mary Moore—
the first one for our church.
During the past year we have
installed new carpet and new
pews in the sanctuary.
Our present membership it
107 members. Over the years
we have lost some by death and
various reasons but have gained
many and continued to grr^
PROUD
• •
Much of the historical data
relative to the on-going minis
try of Sandy Springs is unre
corded, but through the years
the Church has sought to pro
mote the work of the Kingdom
at home and abroad and has
done this rather faithfully
In 1968 new furnishings for
the Sanctuary, pews, commun
ion table, pulpit desk andchirs,
and an altar rail, were install
ed.
The ministers who have serv
ed Sandy Springs through the
years were: D. Pettus Boyd, J.
E. Mahaffey, W. A. Betts, N.
B Clarkson, J L Hardy, J.
M Fridy, G. M Boyd, C C
McCain, W. C Kelly, A. A
Merritt, S F McCarley, D. R
Roof, J C Davis, W. B. Jus
tus, J. K Holman, J. T. Mill
er, B. M Robinson, M. W. Le
ver J. H. Manley, J. C Brown,
E. F Mosely, J. W. McElrath.
W. Glenn Smith, C. O. Bell.
Felder Bauknight, T A. Ina-
binet, John Frazier, J L. Ash
ley, Newell Bush C. B. Word,
E. A Wilkes, III, J D. Stuart,
James H. Williams, HughBick-
ley Webster Curry, Dean D.
Sawyer, Richard Gardner.A. E
Smith, Roy Stockman andW.
Ralph Carter the present pas
tor.
The Rev David Templeton,
pastor of Grace United Metho
dist Church. Abbeville, enter
ed the ministry while a member
at Sandy Springs. He is the son
of Mrs. Matthew Templeton of
Wattsville.
Present church membership
is 66. ChurchSchoolenrollment
53.
* * *
4ft •-> :■* 9* **
T0HNS0NQ
W MEN SHOP O
I
8
Sandy Springs Church
SOUTH CAROLINA
TRICtNTENNIAL
| We Are Proud
( A Part Of This
( portant Celebration.
| Congratulations,
1 South Carolina!
I Serving Clinton Since 1955
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