St. Paul's Methodist Church
Photos Inside of the Church (Thanks to Olivia Price)
More Photos of This Location (External Site)
Location:
Little Rock, South Carolina
The History:
This church has a lot of history behind it. It is a registered historical landmark and the plaque reads as follows:
"Saint Paul Methodist Church
Town of Little Rock, about 150 yards E of the intersection of SC 9 and Road 23
This church was established prior to 1803 and was known as Liberty Chapel. The
present structure, built in 1871, is significant both for its architecture and as a reflection
of Methodism in the Pee Dee area. A Victorian adaptation of the classic meeting-house
form, St. Paul's was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Erected
by Dillon County Historic Preservation Commission-1978"
Also, I found this information on a site about Dillon County(http://www.rootsweb.com/~scdillon/church/church_StPauls_Methodist.html):
"Formerly Liberty Chapel. The church originated in 1786 when Bishop Francis Asbury organized a
preaching station on the Little Pee Dee River, and it is located across the road from the old
Stackhouse home. The congregation worshipped under a brush arbor until a meetinghouse was built on
the site where T.F. Stackhouse later built his dwelling. As settlers living at a distance brought
their families in wagons to the services, often remaining over at least one night, the location
became known as the Gaddy Camp Ground. Before 1803, the church was relocated near Harllee's Bridge,
just south of the Evander Bethea home. The name of Liberty Chapel was adopted prior to September 17, 1814,
when Philip Bethea designated it as such in his will. Bethea was not only a staunch churchman but also
a friend of Asbury's and bequeathed a share of his estate to the church. The charter members of the
chapel included Herod, Isaac, and Tristram Stackhouse, Jesse Proctor, and John Roper.
As the new site eventually proved unsatisfactory, the church was relocated at Harlleesville.
Presumably Thomas Harllee donated the land for the building, as in 1823 he deeded an acre of land
to be used for a church, and in 1844, his son, Thomas Harllee, Jr. donated land adjacent to the
chapel property for a school. The new location also becme known as the site of the Harlleesville
Camp Meetings, which continued annually until 1848.
In 1871, a new building was erected at the present location in the town of Little Rock, the
new name for Harlleesville. At that time, the name of the organization was changed to St. Paul's
Methodist Episcopal Church, with W.C. Power as its first minister. The church continued its
program and the congregation was augmented in 1936 when the Beulah Methodist Episcopal Church
disbanded and its membership joined that of St. Paul's.
--Source: Stokes, "The History of Dillon County, South Carolina""
I have heard common legends around here that if you knock on the doors of the church three times, you can hear organ music playing. I have done this and I can confidently say that just as I thought, it isn't true.
My Thoughts/Feelings/Findings/Opinions:
Frankly, this place scares me. I'm a big guy (6'4" and about 270 lbs) but I won't get very close to this building. I have hunted at it once before and I would not get within about 3 feet of the building. It isn't a happy looking place in the day time, but in the night, I just had very bad feelings about it.
The time I went, I was all excited and everything because I'd wanted to go in that cemetery since I was very young. I finally got my chance and I was loving it. We first went in on the right side of the cemetery and then went around the front into the left side. This is when things got good.
At first, we were back near the back looking across the road and saw some weird flashing lights over this old house. We didn't really think it was anything ghostly, but we still wanted to know what it was. We were focussing on that so long and trying to see what it was that my girlfriend got bored and wandered to the side the the church by herself to take some shots with her Polaroid camera. We were still like 30 feet for her when she came fumbling towards us with a shocked look on her face and she quietly told us that she had just seen a green light moving in the window of the church. We quickly abandoned that light thing across the road to check out what she'd seen. When we shined a light in the window where she said it was, all we could see was what appeared to be a stair way and the light she'd seen was just on top of the steps.
We were kind of shocked from that for a while but we had to go soon so we loaded up and we were about to leave when I told my girlfriend's cousin to knock three times on the doors of the church and she did but nothing happened so I went "BOOM!" just to scare her a bit (and it worked, by chance).
Just after that, I told my girlfriend to take one last picture of the church and she handed me her camera and told me to do it but I didn't know how to work her's so she got out and took it. I focus on this one picture for a reason, that which I shall get to soon.
After we left and were on our way to a few other sites, we were looking at the pictures we had just taken. Almost all of them were of the building itself because my girlfriend seemed fascinated by it. All of the pictures showed nothing abnormal but the last she took. On that picture, just in front of the building itself, there was what appeared to be either two orbs in motino or vortexes moving about and intertwined in each other. It really was a remarkable shot and I hope to get the photo online if wee can ever find what she did with the pictures from that night!
Directions:
From I-95 North, you can take the Little Rock exit (I'm not sure of the number) or exit 190.
If you take the exit for Little Rock, at the end of the off ramp, you'll take a left (onto what I believe is highway 9) and travel a few miles until you see a sign stating that you are in Little Rock. If you don't see the sign, you will know you are there because you will see an interection with caution lights. At that intersection, you will go right onto Harllee's Bridge Road. The church will be visible on the right, just in front of a slight curve.
If you take exit 190, you will make a left on the off ramp onto highway 34. You will follow this for a mile or two until you come across an intersection of this road and Harllee's Bridge Road. You will make a left here and keep on this road for a few miles (or more) until you reach the small town of Little Rock. You will know this because you will pass some train tracks and the post office on the way. When you get to the intersection, you will go straight and you should be able to see the church from the caution light itself. It will be on the right.
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