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Ireland Creek is a quiet little stream
north of Walterboro, necessitating a bridge, which in olden times was
either referred to as the Ireland Creek Bridge or the Walterboro Bridge.
In years past, an
ornamental bridge marked the creek, with benches on the side which made
it a favorite resting place for tired hikers. A bit farther was the old
swimming hole, where, because of possible publicity on the part of
heedless youth, who in the pleasure of swimming often forgot the
audience, strict rules and penalties were provided by the city Fathers.
But Ireland Creek did
not stop when it bounded Walterboro and influenced the naming of two
streets, Bridge Street now known as Jefferies Boulevard and Water
Street now Walter Street, for it meandered in a leisurely way along
what is now Highway 15, possibly in an attempt to become a tributary of
the Edisto River. In its journey it
crossed over to the other side of the road.
Present day citizens
call this creek Ireland Creek because their forefathers said that it
got its name from a man by that name who lived along its banks. All early records have spelled it “Island
Creek”.
But Ireland Creek not
only influenced the naming of streets, it also gave its name to an
early Methodist Church.
Where the creek takes a westerly course in the vicinity of
present day Pleasant Grove there in a quiet bit of woods in the latter
part of the 18th century, when Methodism in South Carolina
was in its infancy, was a Methodist Meeting House.
At the Methodist Meeting House on Friday March 4, 1796
Bishop Francis Asbury paused in his constant traveling to preach to the
people. He describes the building as a
“Pole House”, and says he preached from 1 Chronicles 7-14 and that his
feet felt as though he was standing in water. Those
were the days when people did not consider physical comfort when an
opportunity came to attend services.
This Methodist
Meeting House on Ireland Creek was used as such before the land was
purchased with the building on it for that definite purpose.
Ireland Creek Church was
in the Edisto Circuit, which extended from the Savannah River to within
thirty miles of Charleston, and from Coosawatchie Swamp to the Santee
River. It was formed by the Rev. Isaac
Smith who served the Edisto Circuit in 1789 and again in 1794, when he
gave six months of the year to Edisto and six months to Charleston. He is referred to in Methodist Annals as one
of the most honored and most beloved of all preachers.
At one period he was presiding elder over nearly all of
the Methodist Churches in South Carolina. The
original title to the land and building is owned by J. K. Linder, whose
ancestors were devout members of the church. Until
recent years the pulpit which served the church and behind which Bishop
Asbury preached was in possession of the late Mr. And Mrs. Ab Linder. It is described as a circular pulpit with a
few short steps leading up to it.
A plat made by Benj.
Benton, deputy surveyor, April 2, 1802, has on its face: “Laid out for
the youths of the Methodist Society whereon the Methodist Meeting House
now stands. It contains one acre, one chain and sixty-nine links,
having such form and marks as the above plat doth present.”
On the rivers is: “Meeting House Plat 1 1/6 acres or 1 acre, 1
chain and 69 links. Colleton District
Register of Mesme Conveyance Office, recorded in Book A between page
271 and page 272 the 28th day of February 1807 and examined
by me”. Signed Matt O’Driscoll, Register.
The title deed states
“This indenture made this 1 day of June in the year of our Lord one
thousand and eight hundred and two, between John Fontain of the Parish
of Bartholomew, State of South Carolina and Susannah, his wife, of the
one part and Benjamine Risher, Richard Risher, John McCormack, Methuel
Corbin, Thomas Brannon and Josiah Langdale, trustees in trust for the
use and purpose herein after mentioned, all of the Parish and State
aforesaid.”
Twelve dollars seems to
have been the amount of the purchase from John Fontain and his wife
Susannah. In the year 1793 John Fontain
was granted under the signature of Gov. William Moultrie, 64 acres of
land on Jones Swamp. This is probably the
same John fontain. Early maps show Jones
Swamp and Island Creek running almost parallel.
The deed stipulates that
in the event of the death or the removal of any of six trustees their
places shall be filled by appointment of the preacher or minister
serving the church, and in the years 1828 there is recorded the
successors to these six men. John
McCormack having been removed and the other five trustees having died
the following were named: Lewis O’Bryan,
John Landale, Peter Hyatt, Thomas Raysor and James H. Williams. This list of the successors was signed in June
of 1828 by Asbury Morgan who was admitted to the South Carolina
conference on trial in 1818. In September
of the year in which he named successors to the original trustees of
Island Creek Meeting House, he died in Charleston of “strangers fever”.
Whether the pole house
where Bishop Asbury preached was ever remodeled is not known by this
writer but prior to the year 1882 the church having fallen to pieces
the membership moved to other churches, mostly to Providence Methodist
Church. The original site is marked by the
outline of the building and the cemetery in which one enclosure is
marked by a wall three feet high and more than a foot thick. It was entered by a brick stile.
One tall shaft carries the seal of the state and marks the
grave of Lewis O’Bryan, who died in 1860. Another
Lewis O’Bryan (1770-1849) is buried here. Another
stone marks the grave of Margaret O’Bryan, who with Mrs. Eliza O’Bryan,
Miss Lula O’Bryan, Miss Lizzie Lemacks and Mrs. Frank Grizelle,
organized the first missionary society in the year 1878 when such
societies were being organized over the state.
The Methodist Church in
Walterboro, destroyed by fire in 1854 was said to have been the gift of
Lewis O’Bryan.
The last record of the
members of this church gives the following names and the church to
which transferred for the period 1878-1879: Benjamin
Risher, steward and leader, transferred to Providence; William B.
Risher, steward, James A. Koger, John W. Lemacks, transferred to Round
O; Jacob DeWitt, Thomas R. Risher, Elias C. Cook, Levi E. Hiott, died
1878, Benjamin Risher, Jr., Henry DeWitt, John J. Cook, Huggins Koger,
Fraser Koger, James C. Yarley, Joseph A. Koger, John L. Koger, Ira M.
Koger, Robert B. Koger, Amos Tarley, H. Langdale, Alfred L. Koger,
Lemuel H. Koger, Jefferson B. Risher, Jacob K., Albert and Charles
Linder; Benjamin Kinsey, William Bailey, John W. Lemacks, Anna Lemacks,
Elizabeth S. Risher, Mary, Virginia, Mary E. and Harriett Koger, Annie
L. Koger, Mary E. Risher, Margaret, Jane and Vic Langdale, Mary Yarley,
Elizabeth Kinsey, Harriett Cook, Sarah A. Yarley, Elizabeth DeWitt,
Jane Hiott, Alice Blocker, Angeline Risher, Vicki Garrett, A.E. Risher,
Sevilla Linder, Caroline Kizer, Josephine King, Rebecca F. DuBose, Mary
M. Bailey, Susan, Mary, Eleanor and Harriett Bailey, and Mary Risher. There were two Negro members, Peggy and Hager
Jennings. In the minutes of the Methodist church in
1850 there were 20 churches in the Walterboro Circuit, and Island Creek
is one of them. It was assessed more than the Round O Church but
not as much as the Providence Church, showing the relative strength in
membership at that period.
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This file was contributed for use by the Colleton County SCGenWeb Project by:
Beverly K. Mott
March 27, 2004
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