Rivers, Rails, and Crossroads Region
News

July 20, 2001
Silver Bluff Baptist Church Gets $250,000 for Restoration Project

Beech Island, South Carolina -- On July 20, Silver Bluff Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African American church in America, located in Beech Island, received a $250,000 donation from the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, which has a paper products plant in Beech Island.

Beech Island mill manager Jim Taylor, of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, presented the check to Silver Bluff's minister, the Rev. Bennie Holmes, and Dr. Amos Jones, president of the National Association of Christian Educators, the group spearheading the project. The presentation at the church on Old Jackson Highway was attended by board members from the NACE, local elected officials, representatives from Kimberly-Clark's Beech Island mill, congregation members, TV and news reporters, and Jackie Bartley, vice-president of the Beech Island Historical Society.

The $250,000 will go toward restoration of the church building back to its 1873 appearance and the restoration of an old schoolhouse, society hall, and graveyard, and construction of an entrance marquee, memorial garden, and brush arbor like the one used by the church's early worshippers before the original church was built on this property in 1873. One of the graveyards is located on Kimberly-Clark property and the other is located on private property on Tennis Ranch Road.

August 4, 2001
Silver Bluff Church Dedicates Marker

Beech Island, South Carolina -- On August 4, Silver Bluff Missionary Baptist Church dedicated its historical marker, which is erected near the Old Jackson Highway in front of the church. The church's minister, the Rev. Bennie Holmes, unveiled the marker and Sister Linda Mckie read the inscription. The marker reads, "This church, one of the first black Baptist churches in America, grew out of regular worship services held as early as the 1750s at "Silver Bluff," the plantation of Indian trader George Galphin. At first a non-denominational congregation with both white and black members, it was formally organized as Silver Bluff Baptist Church in 1773 with Rev. Walt Palmer as its first preacher."