Near Gadsden in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Richland Presbyterian Church
This church building was dedicated in May 1884 by Dr. John L. Girardeau. The congregation of 11 members, including 2 elders and 1 deacon, was organized on the Sabbath Day, November 16, 1883 by the Charleston Presbytery. In 1914, the church became a charter member of Congaree Presbytery, moving to Eastover in August 1922.
(Reverse text)
The eleven charter members of this church were Thomas and Lula B. Auld, Augusta H. Bates, Joseph and Clair H. Bates, Elise M. Dwight, Peter and Isabel H. Garick, Glenn and Hattie H. Kaminer, and Belton A. Williams.
Erected 1980 by The Congregation. (Marker Number 40-87.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Churches & Religion. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1884.
Location. 33° 50.639′ N, 80° 42.039′ W. Marker is near Gadsden, South Carolina, in Richland County. Marker is on Fork Church Road (State Highway 40-1314), on the right when traveling west. Located between Jack Paul Road and Harold C Hill Road, approx. 500 yards west of Poultry Ln. (State Road 40-56). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 631 Fork Church Rd, Gadsden SC 29052, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Eastover (approx. 2.3 miles away); Kingville (approx. 2.7 miles away); St. Phillip A.M.E. Church (approx. 2.9 miles away); Kensington (approx. 3 miles away); Gadsden (approx. 3.9 miles away); Site of Rebecca Motte's Home (approx. 6 miles away); Congaree River Ferries (approx. 6½ miles away); John M. Bates Bridge (approx. 6.8 miles away).
Regarding Richland Presbyterian Church. Richland Presbyterian Church is significant as a rare virtually unaltered example of the nineteenth century rural, vernacular church. Its congregation was probably the first organized Presbyterian church in lower Richland County, having its roots in a mission Sunday School established there in 1873. This church was not constructed until 1883, when people of the community with both Lutheran and Presbyterian backgrounds joined together to erect a building on land purchased from the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was dedicated with eleven members by the Reverend John L. Girardeau, Presbyterian theologian, in May 1884. The building remained in use until 1922, when a new brick church in the town of Eastover was completed and occupied. The effort toward relocation had begun in 1919, when the congregation decided that more people could be served if a move to the nearby town was undertaken. The meeting house form building’s primary feature is an octagonal entrance tower on its façade. The tower has a Gothic-arched portal in its forward facet, with single windows in flanking facets. Louvered vents are located in the upper stage of the tower. An octagonal hipped roof with flared eaves rises to a metal finial at the top of the tower. The spartan interior of the church has original plaster walls and board-and-batten ceiling. An iron fence surrounds the adjacent cemetery. Listed in the National Register March 27, 1986. ( Historic Resources of Lower Richland County, South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 5, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 23, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 916 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on June 25, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 8. submitted on August 18, 2011, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. submitted on June 25, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 14, 15. submitted on August 18, 2011, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina.