Two Easter Church Dedications in the Early 1900s

During a span of two years (1912-1914) three large churches opened on Academy Street in Kingstree. Two of them were dedicated during the Easter season, one in 1912, the other in 1914. In 1910, the congregation of Kingstree Methodist Church realized that it had outgrown its building on the corner of Academy and Church streets and set out to raise money for a new sanctuary. They broke ground on the same spot as the old church on January 23, 1911, holding services in the school auditorium until the new building could be completed.

Kingstree Methodist Church as it looked in 1912.

The County Record

The $17,000 building measured 64 x 90 feet, with the sanctuary measuring 54 x 54 feet. The Gothic-designed ceiling in the sanctuary consisted of four arches which met in the center. The building contained the sanctuary, the Sunday School room, seven classrooms, and the pastor's study. An elevated choir loft rose at the rear of the pulpit. It could seat 600, although membership at the time of its construction was approximately 170. Most notable were the two, large stained-glass windows, one facing Academy Street and one facing Church Street.

The first service was held in the church on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1912. The County Records for April, 1912, are missing, and there appears to have been no write-up in any of the daily papers. However, we know from later newspaper articles that members of all denominations in Kingstree at the time attended the Easter service with the Methodists. We also know that in 1913, the church, led by its pastor D.A. Phillips, raised the funds to pay off the $9,201.50 balance on the mortgage. Dr. D.C. Scott contributed the final $25 at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 1913. The next day, the  mortgage was burned as the congregation sang the Doxology. 

The Methodists used this building until the walls cracked in the 1950s, and it was condemned. The current Kingstree United Methodist on Longstreet Street was built in 1957, designed around the two large stained glass windows from the old church.

Shortly after the construction of the 1912 Methodist Church, the congregation of Williamsburg Presbyterian Church decided to build a new brick church, costing not less than $12,000. They, too, would build the new church on the ground on which the old church stood. 

Williamsburg Presbyterian Church as it looks today. Of the three churches built in the early

 1900s, this is the only one still standing.

The new church was dedicated on January 25, 1914, and as was the case with the Methodist Church before it, the other churches suspended their own services that day to worship with the Presbyterians. The guest speaker was Dr. Henry Alexander White of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Columbia. He addressed the 500 people in attendance on the history of the Presbyterianism in Williamsburg County, noting that this new building was a far cry from the first service conducted by John Witherspoon in the barn of an earlier settler in the county.  Also during the service, the Rev. D.A. Phillips of Kingstree Methodist, and the Rev. W.E. Hurt of Kingstree Baptist brought greetings and congratulations from their congregations. Estelle Campbell, the music teacher at the school, played the pipe organ, accompanying a large choir of "selected voices." S.D. Carr, brother of Kingstree resident, W.H. Carr, and a salesman for a music company, played the offertory. 

Kingstree First Baptist, with the parsonage to the left.

A History of the First Baptist Church of Kingstree

While the Presbyterian Church was under construction, across Academy Street, the town's Baptist congregation was building a new church of their own. They, too, were constructing the new building on the same lot as their old church. The frame building that had served them for many years was moved first to the back of the lot and then, after M.F. Heller bought it, across the street where it became the dining room of the Heller House, now the Heller House Inn.

This new church was dedicated on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1914, with Dr. E. Pendleton Jones of Newberry as the guest minister. He based his sermon on the Gospel of Luke, titling it "The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me." Again, the other churches in town closed for the day to celebrate with the Baptists. Baptist minister, W.E. Hurt, noted in his remarks that the first Baptist Church in Kingstree was made possible by a good Presbyterian elder, A.I. McKnight. The Rev. D.A. Phillips of the Methodist congregation and Presbyterian minister, the Rev P.S McChesney both spoke on the spirit of Christian unity in the community. Both the sanctuary and the Sunday School room were filled to overflowing for the service. Violinist David Silverman played a solo, accompanied by pianist Estelle Campbell. S.D. Carr also played two selections during the service. 

According to The County Record, the arrangement of the church was "simple and convenient." In addition to the sanctuary and the Sunday School room, there was a pastor's study, a ladies' parlor, and three spacious vestibules. The large stained glass dome in the center of the sanctuary was accented beneath by a circle of many electric lights. There was additional electric lighting on the walls of the sanctuary. 

While today, Kingstree's Baptists still worship on Academy Street, the 1914 church gave way in the 1980s to a larger, more modern building constructed on the spot of the old parsonage. However, across the street, the 1914 Williamsburg Presbyterian Church still stands, although it has been renovated several times over the years and is currently undergoing another renovation.