Bethany A.R.P. Church -York County, S.C.

“One of York County’s historic 4-B churches.”

1454 Highway 161 North

City Directories and History: This is one of York County’s oldest ARP congregations, formed in circa 1797. The first recorded minister here was the Rev. William

LINKED HISTORY PAGE

Dickson who served the area for over thirty years. Due to the length of his minister the church was often refereed to as the Dickson’s Meetinghouse. The original three meeting houses were all of frame construction until the current church building was erected in 1914, for a total cost of $12,000., of which the windows cost $452.96. Mr. Falls of Kings Mountain made the brick on site for the church and the windows were reported to have cost $452.96. The church shows clearly on the Walker map in 1910 but not in the present condition.

The postal map of York County, S.C. in 1896 – Courtesy of the UN. of N.C.

The church was constructed at a time when Gothic Revival architecture was heavily in use. See More Information for article on the church.

“Bethany (“House of the Poor”), 1797, York County. See The Gospel of John, 12:1—“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was. . . .”

Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC

The first Elders that were elected and ordained at Bethany were as follows: William McElwee, Sr., who had been a Ruling Elder in the General Assembly body; Samuel Lesslie, James Crawford, and Alexander Henry. These were installed in office and Bethany was organized in 1797 on the spot it now stands, then an unbroken point. According to the statement of Francis Henry, the stand was erected at Bethany, and that became a place of worship in 1796 which die writer is inclined to receive as the proper date. The first time the Lord’s Supper was dispensed to this organization was at a stand at the head of a ravine leading up from the spring to the present church, where the wild deer and wolf found safe retreat in these boundless woods.

In March 1796, Rev. William Dixon moved his family into the bounds from Cedar Spring, Abbeville District In 1801 Peter Galloway and James Montgomery moved into the bounds and they had both been elders, were selected to serve in that capacity over Bethany congregation. William Dixon was of Scotch-Irish extraction. He obtained his theological education under the celebrated John Brown of Haddington. Bethany engaged his services for about 35 years. After the death of Mr. Dixon, Rev. Mr. Banks served them for a few months. His successor was Dr. Grier, who served about eight years. I have not touched on the most interesting topic in the history of Bethany, viz.: Their change of Ecclesiastical connection from the A. R. synod to the Associate Synod, and thence back to the A. R. church again. These are all matters of record, and the historian may find them as readily as the writer.
Present [1859] statistics: Pastor E. E. Boyce; number of families, 41; communicants, white, 95; communicants, black, 11; contributions to domestic missions, 00; contributions to foreign missions, $20.20.  Information courtesy of YCGHS — June 1995

Also open the More Information  link #3 (found under the primary picture), to view an 1896 Postal Map of York County, S.C.

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