Old Stone Church is a church building built in 1802. When it was constructed, it was in the

Pendleton District, South Carolina Pendleton District, named after US Judge Henry Pendleton, is a former judicial district in South Carolina. It existed as a county or a district from 7 March 1789 to 20 December 1826. In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided i ...

. 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 Oconee County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 78,607. Its county seat is Walhalla, South Carolina, Walhalla and its lar ...

. 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.

History

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 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 (Colonists referred to the lower reaches of the river as ...

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 Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

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. 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 Junius often refers to: * Junius (writer), the pseudonym of an 18th-century British political writer of strongly Whig principles * The nomen of the ancient Roman * or , the month of June on the ancient Roman calendar * Rosa Luxemburg's '' Junius P ...

letters in the ''

London Evening Post The ''London Evening Post'' was a pro- Jacobite Tory English language daily newspaper published in London, then the capital city of the Kingdom of Great Britain, from 1727 until 1797.Cranfield, G.A. (1963). "The ''London Evening Post'', 1727–17 ...

''. They were found not guilty. In 1782, Miller came to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1783, he moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

and began publishing a newspaper, ''Pendleton Messenger''. After the

Treaty of Hopewell Three agreements, each known as a Treaty of Hopewell, were signed between representatives of the Congress of the United States and the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw peoples. They were negotiated and signed at the Hopewell plantation in South ...

, he was given 640 acres (259 ha) on Eighteen Mile Creek near Pendleton by Governor

Benjamin Guerard Benjamin Guerard (1740December 21, 1788) was a lawyer, patriot of the Revolutionary War and the 34th Governor of South Carolina from 1783 to 1785. Early life and career Guerard was born in Charlestown to John Guerard and Elizabeth Hill. H ...

. 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 Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 5, 1803July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first secretary of war and as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a U.S. politician and se ...

, 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. The Old Stone Church and Cemetery is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, No. 71000794. The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has additional pictures and information, and copies of the nomination forms.Old Stone Church and Cemetery nomination form.
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Notable burials

* Robert Anderson,

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

colonel * Leon P. Crawford, Republican mayor of Clemson from 1946 to 1965 * Andrew Pickens,

Brigadier general and member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

*Rebecca Calhoun Pickens, wife of Andrew Pickens and cousin of

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

*John Miller, London printer *Reverend Thomas Reese

External links

Printer John Miller Historical Marker

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Churches completed in 1802 Buildings and structures in Pickens County, South Carolina Churches in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Pickens County, South Carolina Clemson, South Carolina Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Carolina