Old Stone Church and Cemetery | |
View of the Old Stone Church from the cemetery | |
Location | Clemson, South Carolina |
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Coordinates | 34°39′52″N82°48′55″W / 34.66444°N 82.81528°W Coordinates: 34°39′52″N82°48′55″W / 34.66444°N 82.81528°W |
Built | 1797 - 1802 |
Architect | John Rusk |
Part of | Pendleton Historic District (ID70000560 [1] ) |
NRHP reference No. | 71000794 [1] |
Added to NRHP | November 5, 1971 |
Old Stone Church is a church building built in 1802. When it was constructed, it was in the Pendleton District, South Carolina. When Pendleton District was divided in 1826, the church was in Pickens District. When Pickens District was split in 1868, it was in Oconee County, South Carolina. In 1968, this section of Oconee County was annexed back to Pickens County. The church is about midway between the centers of Pendleton and Clemson. It is now in the city limits of Clemson.
In 1790, the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, which was also called the Hopewell-Keowee Church, was built in the Pickens District. Hopewell was the name of General Andrew Pickens's house on the Seneca River. Keowee was a common name for this section of the Seneca River in this period. The first church was a log building. Its location is on South Experimental Forest of Clemson University in Pickens County on Seed Orchard Road about 200 m west of West Queen St. This church burned in 1796. The ruins can be found at the edge of the forest. A monument was on the site until 1980 when it was moved to inside of Old Stone Church to prevent vandalism. [2]
The congregation was given a tract of land for the new church by John Miller, who was a printer in Pendleton. Miller had been a publisher in England. In 1775, he and two partners were tried for libel because of their publications of the Junius letters in the London Evening Post . They were found not guilty. In 1782, Miller came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1783, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina and began publishing a newspaper, Pendleton Messenger. After the Treaty of Hopewell, he was given 640 acres (259 ha) on Eighteen Mile Creek near Pendleton by Governor Benjamin Guerard. He or his son later deeded about 16.9 acres (6.8 ha) to the Trustees of Hopewell Church.
The new church was constructed of field stone and mortar by John Rusk, who was the father of Texas Senator Thomas Jefferson Rusk, over the period from 1797 to 1802. It was a simple building with wooden pews and a pulpit. Early members of the church included Robert Anderson and Andrew Pickens.
In 1824, the congregation built a new church, Hopewell-Pendleton, in Pendleton. After the new church was built, The Old Stone Church was only used occasionally. The congregation in Pendleton is now known as the Pendleton Presbyterian Church. [3] [4]
The Old Stone Church and Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places, No. 71000794. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has additional pictures and information, [5] and copies of the nomination forms. [6]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Old Stone Church and Cemetery . |
Pickens County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 119,224. Its county seat is Pickens. The county was created in 1826.
Oconee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,273. Its county seat is Walhalla and its largest city is Seneca.
Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,964 at the 2010 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
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Pickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,126 at the 2010 census. Pickens changed its classification from a town to a city in 1998, but it was not reported to the Census Bureau until 2001. It is the county seat of Pickens County. It was named after Andrew Pickens (1739–1817), an American revolutionary soldier and US Congressman for South Carolina.
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Andrew Pickens Jr. was an American soldier and politician. He served as the 46th Governor of South Carolina from 1816 until 1818.
Andrew Pickens was a militia leader in the American Revolution. A planter, he developed his Hopewell plantation on the east side of the Keowee River across from the Cherokee town of Isunigu (Seneca) in western South Carolina.
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The Seneca River is created by the confluence of the Keowee River and Twelvemile Creek in northwestern South Carolina, downriver from Lake Keowee near Clemson. It is now entirely inundated by Lake Hartwell, and forms a 21-mile-long (34 km) arm of the lake. The Seneca River and the Tugaloo River join to form the Savannah River.
Lake Keowee is a man-made reservoir in the United States in the state of South Carolina. It was developed to serve the needs of power utility Duke Energy and public recreational purposes. It is approximately 26 miles (42 km) long, 3 miles (4.8 km) wide, with an average depth of 54 feet (16 m), and a shoreline measured at 300 miles (480 km) in total, and is approximately 800 feet (240 m) above sea level.
Keowee was a Cherokee town in the far northwest corner of present-day South Carolina. It was the principal town of what were called the seven Lower Towns, located along the Keowee River.. Keowee was situated on the Lower Cherokee Traders Path, part of the Upper Road through the Piedmont. In 1752 the Cherokee established New Keowee Town nearby, off the traders path but in a more defensible location.
Isunigu was a Cherokee town on the Keowee River. It was on the west side of the Keowee River, near the mouth of Coneross Creek, in today's Oconee County, South Carolina. Present-day Clemson and Seneca, South Carolina later developed hear here.
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Fort Hill, also known as the John C. Calhoun Mansion and Library, is a National Historic Landmark on the Clemson University campus in Clemson, South Carolina. The house is significant as the home of John C. Calhoun, the 7th Vice President of the United States, from 1825 to 1850. It is now a museum and library maintained in his memory.
Robert Anderson was a politician, militia officer, and surveyor from South Carolina. He was a lifelong friend of General Andrew Pickens. Anderson, South Carolina, Anderson County, South Carolina, and the ghost town of Andersonville are named for him.
Pendleton Historic District in Pendleton, South Carolina is a historic district which is located mostly in Anderson County, South Carolina and partly in Pickens County, South Carolina. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The historic district includes the town of Pendleton and its immediate surroundings plus a large tract west towards Lake Hartwell to include the Hopewell Keowee Monument and the Treaty Oak Monument. The entire historic district covers an area of over 6,300 acres (25 km2).