Chapter Seventeen

Bamberg County Churches - Page One

Small Rural Churches Now Disbanded

Old Hymn

Come to the church in the wildwood.
Come to the church in the dell.
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the dell. (Author unknown)

These small churches, which were located hither and yon over the county, are no longer to be seen, but their memory lingers on in the hearts of many, who at one time in life either attended, or were told about them by their elders. Their structures sheltered the pioneers of the area, laid the foundation for religion, and led to the more prosperous and comfortable structures of today.

Even though Bethany Baptist Church near Ehrhardt has been disbanded for almost fifty years, its site is used to perpetuate the cemetery of the founders.

When it became feasible to disband the church, the edifice and contents were sold, and the proceeds were used for the upkeep of the graves of the organizers of the church, who are buried near the site of the church building.

Bethany Church was organized January 23, 1910, on Sunday evening. Forty-six members of the Little Salkehatchie Baptist Church met at the Oak Grove School House. After preaching by the Rev. J. Earle Freeman, a Baptist church was formed, named Bethany.

Another Lutheran church of the county was Bethlehem, which was located in Clear Pond area, not far from the T. H. Sutton farm. Nothing of the church edifice remains, only a cemetery with tombstones bearing the names of Folk, Hutto, McMillan, Smoak, Padgett, McGinnis, Adams, Rentz, O’Quinn, Simmons, Steedly, and Jones.

In the years from 1868 to 1885, the church existed as a congregation and was in the Mount Pleasant Parish. The August 10, 1899, edition of The Bamberg Herald mentions a Union Sunday School picnic being held at the church. In a later edition of September 20, 1901, another mention is made of a picnic at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

The land for the church and cemetery was given by Jacob Rentz. Although the building was still standing as late as 1916, the church was not functioning. The building stood across the present road from the cemetery and either faced or backed the cemetery. It is thought that the church and all the records burned.

The oldest known Baptist church in Bamberg County was Little Saltcatchers Baptist Church, which was constituted about February 1787 and admitted to the Charleston Baptist Association in the same year. Its location is given as “a few miles south of Bamberg, and eighty miles north and west of Charleston.’’ The church gained its name from the location on the Little Saltcatchers River.

Bethesda Baptist Church, ca. 1970

The church building was constructed on lightwood stumps from the pine trees which are prevalent in this section. Fingerprints of the men who built the edifice could be clearly seen on the boards of the interior, which had never been painted and were ten inches in width. The podium backed by a Palladian window was located on the northern side of the building, and doors placed in each of the other three walls. Supporting the ceiling of the sanctuary were two quindecagonal columns which appeared to have been hand hewn. When Sherman’s army passed through the neighborhood, the house of worship was nearly torn down by the advance guard, who used its heavy timbers to construct a plank crossing for the troops through the nearby swamp.

Exactly when services were discontinued in the church is not known. For years this weather-beaten, deserted building on the shady knoll by the side of Highway 601 between Bamberg and Ehrhardt presented to travelers a gloomy picture, but to many of the older generation of the county, Bethesda Church brought pleasant memories of faith, fellowship, and love. Unused for decades, the unpainted framework, with all windowpanes missing, seemed indestructible. Its foundation was as sturdy as the doctrines once announced within its walls. Though scarred by time and a victim of the elements, the structure bravely outlived the church membership who cared for its upkeep.

Services were not held in the church for over half a century, and the exact age of the structure could not be established. Families who had marriage and death records say that it was well over a century old.

Also spelled:
Binnaker, Binacker, Binnacker, and Binaker

Binnicker’s Bridge Camp Meeting Grounds is not seen on Mills Atlas of 1820, but old plats and deeds show that the family was living in the area in the early 1820s. The family still owns property on the Orangeburg County side of the river. On the Bamberg County side, the area now belongs to the Denmark Country Club.

In his booklet, Tale of a Town, Bamberg and Vicinity, Otis Brabham (born 1872) reflects that, Among my happiest recollections, were those spent at Binaker’s Bridge Camp Meeting Grounds. At Binacker’s the main building or tabernacle was in the center and all around were shacks called tents. To the rear of these, the horses were quartered and the cooking done. Then as now there was much social activity among the young. The grounds were on a high bluff on the Edisto River and the horses had to be led down to be watered with much commotion. The gatherings were always held in the summer, and for lights on the grounds they made a small platform and placed it on four posts with dirt on it. On these stands they burned fat lightwood.

Although cited as being the birthplace of several now functioning churches, factual information as to the history of this church is very scarce. In 1844 Colonel J. T. Counts, W. B. Dowling, Linton Lee, and others withdrew from Springtown Baptist Church, which was constituted in 1803, to form Cedar Springs Baptist Church, near Bamberg or Lowrey’s Turnout, as it was then called. It was a member of Edisto Association until later dismissed to Barnwell Association as “Grahams.” The new church had a humble beginning in a log building located near the notable Henry Hartzog home.

Evidently Cedar Springs continued to function because in 1872 Bamberg First Baptist Church was constituted. Accounts of both of these churches refer to Cedar Springs Church as their parent church.

It is unknown if Felder’s Meeting House was a religious edifice or a general gathering place. As suggested by names mentioned in legal documents, it was probably situated on Felder lands near Sykes Creek, and on or near the old Charleston- Augusta Stagecoach Road. It was in existence as early as December 13, 1807.