Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Old White Meeting House and Cemetery

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 13, 2009

1. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker

Inscription. (Text front)
This church was established in 1696 by settlers from Dorchester, Mass., for which the town of Dorchester was named. This brick sanctuary, built ca. 1700, was occupied and then burned by British troops in 1781. The church was reorganized as "The United Independent Congregational Church of Dorchester and Beech Hill" in 1793 and the building rebuilt the next year. A summer church was built in nearby Summerville in 1831.

(Text reverse)
In 1859 members of the Dorchester congregation established the Summerville Presbyterian Church, which was then admitted into the Charleston Presbytery. The church at this site, often called "Old White Meeting House," was almost abandoned and was in disrepair in 1886 when the Charleston earthquake reduced it to ruins. The Cemetery here includes graves dating from the eighteenth century to the present.

Erected 1996 by Summerville Presbyterian Church. (Marker Number 18-5.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Churches & Religion. A significant historical year for this entry is 1696.

Location. 32° 57.964′ N, 80° 11.733′ W. Marker is in Summerville, South Carolina, in Dorchester County. Marker is on Dorchester Road (State Highway 642), on the left when traveling

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east. Located east of Tyvola Drive (State Highway S-18-644). Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Summerville SC 29485, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Bacon's Bridge / "The Hill" (approx. 0.6 miles away); Newington Plantation (approx. 1.3 miles away); Old Dorchester (approx. 1.8 miles away); Dorchester Free School (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Bell Tower of St. George's (approx. 1.9 miles away); Parish Church of St. George, Dorchester (approx. 1.9 miles away); Colonial Dorchester (approx. 1.9 miles away); a different marker also named Colonial Dorchester (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Summerville.

Regarding Old White Meeting House and Cemetery. Old White Meeting House was built ca. 1700, burned during the American Revolution in 1781, rebuilt in 1794, then reduced to ruins by the Charleston Earthquake of 1886. Constructed of brick and covered with stucco, it conformed to the typical “meeting house” plan of the colonial period, featuring a square building with a pyramidal roof. The dimension of the Old White Meeting House as rebuilt in 1794 were 30'x 30’. The extant ruins include portions of each corner-the largest approximately 9’ high-and significant remnants of the foundation of walls, clearly outlining the historic form,

Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker, reverse side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 13, 2009

2. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker, reverse side

plan, and size of the meeting house. The cemetery, which also contributes to the significance of the nominated property, surrounds the meeting house ruins and is laid out in a regular grid plan, with little discernible landscaping or other planned features other than an entrance gate and a few deciduous or evergreen trees shading particular family plots. Grave markers are primarily granite or marble tablets, obelisks, and table-top stones. The first marked graves in the cemetery date from the 1760s, and most burials date from the nineteenth century. Listed in the National Register February 8, 2005. (South Carolina Department of Archives and History)

National Register of Historic Places:
Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery (added 2005 - Site - #97000445) •
SC 642, approximately .5 mi. SE of jct. with SC 165, Summerville •
Historic Significance: Event •
Area of Significance: Exploration/Settlement, Religion, Social History •
Period of Significance: 1700-1749, 1750-1799, 1800-1824, 1825-1849, 1850-1874, 1875-1899 •
Owner: Private •
Historic Function: Funerary, Religion •
Historic Sub-function: Cemetery, Religious Structure •
Current Function: Funerary, Vacant/Not In Use •
Current Sub-function: Cemetery •

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 13, 2009

3. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 13, 2009

4. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker

White Meeting House circa 1696 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 13, 2009

5. White Meeting House circa 1696

Destroyed by the 1886 earthquake

Old White Meeting House and Cemetery North wall ruins image. Click for full size.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History, circa 1997

6. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery North wall ruins

South Carolina Department of Archives and History, circa 1997

7. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery North wall ruins

South Carolina Department of Archives and History, circa 1997

8. Old White Meeting House and Cemetery Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 13, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,299 times since then and 72 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on October 13, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.