City Directories and History: The historic ca. 1795 Oolenoy Baptist Church, the building dates to ca. 1952 and was constructed by Wilburn McJunkin.
Pumpkintown – This famous center and popular community on Oolenoy River was originally occupied by a large division of the Cherokee Indians. The valley is very wide and the soil is rich, alluvial land, the white settlers came to the valley, they grew huge amounts of Tennessee white com and thousands of monstrous pumpkins. At one of their community “com shuckins” while awaiting the call to supper, the men were discussing the subject of a name for their large settlement; and as they stood and sat on a slight elevation above the level of the wide valley, a rather prominent Irish leader among the fellows, half inebriated, sat leaning against a tree. The warm debate excited him and suddenly he arose, stepped wobbly to the front waving his strong arm toward the great fields of corn and immense pumpkins, and exclaimed with a considerably unsavory oath: “Men, jest quit arguin’ *bout the whole thing and jest call er Punldn Town!” And, from that popular occasion, for almost two centuries the people have called their interesting and popular community “Pumpkin Town” (now Pumpkintown). In 1791 there were only two towns in what is now Pickens County: they were Pickensville and Pumpkintown.
(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
Oolenoy Baptist Church
Oolenoy Baptist Church
Stay Connected
Explore history, houses, and stories across S.C. Your membership provides you with updates on regional topics, information on historic research, preservation, and monthly feature articles. But remember R&R wants to hear from you and assist in preserving your own family genealogy and memorabilia.
Visit the Southern Queries – Forum to receive assistance in answering questions, discuss genealogy, and enjoy exploring preservation topics with other members. Also listed are several history and genealogical researchers for hire.
User comments welcome — post at the bottom of this page.
R&R HISTORY LINK: Colton’s 1854 Map of Pickens Co., S.C. – Enlargeable
R&R HISTORY LINK: the 1939 SCDOT Map of Pickens Co, S.C. (Section #4)
R&R HISTORY LINK: NATIONAL REGISTER – IMAGE(S)
Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.
Do you have information to share and preserve? Family, school, church, or other older photos and stories are welcome. Send them digitally through the “Share Your Story” link, so they too might be posted on Roots and Recall.
Thanks!
IMAGE GALLERY via photographer Bill Segars – 2006
