Lucas Vance
Staff Writer
WINNSBORO — The original Crooked Run Baptist church building is located at 7978 S.C. 269 and is the second oldest Baptist church building in Fairfield County.
Crooked Run, built in 1836, is in danger of being torn down because of its close proximity to the new building, which was built in 1976. The original building is perceived as a fire hazard, which has forced the church to pay a higher premium on its insurance.
Pelham Lyles, director of the Fairfield County Museum, hopes a plan can be constructed to save the original building.
“They were able to raise enough money to the move the church in 1976 and I’d like to see that happen again in order to preserve a piece of a history,” Pelham said.
Crooked Run was first mentioned in the minutes of its mother church, Cedar Creek Baptist (25 mile church), in 1824 and then gained independence in 1829. The original building was constructed in 1836 and held its first meeting on June 18.
Garrett Hendricks, who made the purchase from William McGraw in 1787, provided the land for the church. Some names on the church’s roll during its early years include Turnipseed, Yarbrough, Bell, Souter, Lyles, Frazier, Andrews and McGraw.
In 1944 Crooked Run covered the original building in stone to help preserve it. The preservation was successful until 1976 when the building’s infrastructure started to fail. Former Pastor Terry Brooks and church member James Green III were a part of the effort to renovate the original building.
“The beams were coming loose and we had to prop them up temporarily,” Green noted.
The temporary fix did not quite work and Crooked Run ended up constructing a new building in 1976 and moved the old building to its current location. The relocation was difficult on the original building because all the stone had to be removed before it could be relocated.
Crooked Run’s current Pastor is Tommy Hutto. He holds a Sunday service at 11 a.m. and on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Contact Lucas Vance at 635-4016 ext.15 or email him at lvance@civitasmedia.com
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