Estill in Hampton County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Steep Bottom Baptist Church
Photographed by Bruce InCharlotte, October 5, 2025
1. Steep Bottom Baptist Church Marker, Side One
Steep Bottom Baptist Church was constituted in 1814 through the efforts of Rev. Hezekiah A. Boyd and Rev. James Sweat. Steep Bottom, along with Prince William and Cypress Creek Churches, was admitted into the Savannah River Baptist Association in that same year. Across the road is a pond referred to as the "Punch Bowl," which was long used as a baptismal pool.
During the Civil War the XX Corps of the Union Army camped near the church in early February 1865. Union forces fired the nearby towns of Lawtonville and Robertville, and tradition holds they also burned Steep Bottom Church. A new church was built in 1872 and served as the sanctuary until the present church was built in 1982. The 1872 church remains and is now the social hall.
Erected 2014 by South Carolina Department of Archives and History; sponsored by Steep Bottom Baptist Church. (Marker Number 25-22.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1865.
Location. 32° 41.955′ N, 81° 12.983′ W. Marker is in Estill, South Carolina, in Hampton County. It is on Steep Bottom Road north of Bens Road, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2035 Steep Bottom Rd, Estill SC 29918, United States of America. Touch for directions.
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Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, in the Ashepoo and Combahee and Edisto Basin. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lawtonville Church (approx. 4.1 miles away); Estill Presbyterian Church (approx. 4.1 miles away); Lucile Ellerbe Godbold (approx. 4.2 miles away); Estill Methodist Church (approx. 4.4 miles away); Morrison Academy (approx. 4.8 miles away); Robertville (approx. 7.9 miles away); a different marker also named Lawtonville Church (approx. 8.2 miles away); Oak Grove Baptist Church (approx. 8.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Estill.
Photographed by Bruce InCharlotte, October 5, 2025
2. Steep Bottom Baptist Church Marker, Side Two
Credits. This page was last revised on May 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2025, by Bruce InCharlotte of Charlotte, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 55 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 3, 2025, by Bruce InCharlotte of Charlotte, North Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
