Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
National Register Listing
Street Address:
4.3 mi. N of Jenkinsville on SC 213, Jenkinsville, SC (Fairfield County)
Alternate Name:
Old Brick Church
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817720010
Description and Narrative:
(Old Brick Church) Built in 1788, this small, rectangular meeting house plan building is simple and unadorned, with a gable roof and unornamented windows. It is one of few eighteenth-century meeting house churches remaining in the state. The bricks for the thick masonry walls were made by members of the congregation. The simple interior contains straight-back pews, a dais-style pulpit with plain rails around two sides, and a slave gallery. The church and graveyard are surrounded by a granite wall added in 1852. This church was the birthplace of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian denomination in South Carolina. Ebenezer’s pastor, the Reverend James Rogers, first ARP Moderator, organized the Associate Reformed Synod of Carolinas here on May 9, 1803. The church grew in numbers until the Civil War when the young manhood of the congregation joined the Confederate Army en masse. The building was damaged by Union troops, who removed part of its flooring and woodwork to rebuild a bridge across Little River. An apology, penciled in the wall, has been kept legible: “Citizens of this community: Please excuse us for defacing your house of worship, so much. It was absolutely necessary to effect a crossing over the creek, the Rebs had destroyed the bridge. A Yankee.” The church was later repaired and remained in active use until 1920. Since that time the church has been used for annual commemorative services. The adjoining graveyard contains numerous graves of Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers. Listed in the National Register August 19, 1971.
Period of Significance:
1788
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Military;Religion;Philosophy
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
August 19 1971
