Mizpah Methodist Church

National Register Listing

Street Address:

Intersection of U.S. Hwy. 301 and S-5-31, Olar, SC (Bamberg County)

Alternate Name:

Mizpah United Methodist Church

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817705006

Description and Narrative:

Constructed in 1856 in the village of Buford’s Bridge, Mizpah Methodist Church is the only extant building from the old Barnwell District town that flourished in the nineteenth century but had all but disappeared by the early twentieth century. The braced frame, sheathed in weatherboard church is an extraordinary surviving example of the vernacular meeting house form, typical of many rural South Carolina churches, but with the added sophistication of both Greek Revival and Gothic Revival elements. The historic cemetery surrounding the church contains gravestones and iron Maltese cross markers for a number of Confederate veterans, as well as those for many of the church’s early families. In fact, some of the gravestones are signed by their cutters. According to local tradition, Mizpah Methodist Church was the only residence or institution in the Buford’s Bridge community that was not burned or otherwise destroyed by Federal troops during their stay during the closing days of the Civil War. Mizpah Church is significant as a tangible reminder of one of Bamberg County’s earliest and continuously functioning Methodist congregations. Listed in the National Register December 13, 2000.

Period of Significance:

1856

Level of Significance:

Local

Area of Significance:

Architecture

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

December 13 2000

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