Cheraw Churches
Cheraw Presbyterian Church--On March 11, 1828, the Rev. Urias Powers met with eleven persons who had been members of Presbyterian churches in other places and organized the Cheraw Presbyterian Church.  The property at the corner of Third and Market Streets was purchased in 1831 for $193 and the church was built in 1832.  In 1842, the Session house, to the right, was built.  The original church stands today, but was brick veneered in 1922, changing its appearance considerably.  Also at that time, the ceiling was restored to its original appearance, a choir loft and Sunday School additions were completed, and a vestibule was added.  Other additions were built during the 1958 renovation. 

(The picture shown at left:  Cheraw (S.C.) photograph album, 1899-1904: Digital Image Access Project Photographs, Special Collections Library, Duke University. .)

Cheraw First Baptist Church--From 1785 until 1840, members of Cheraw Hill Baptist Church met in a building on the river hill above the ferry dock.  In January, 1840, they occupied this building which had been constructed at the corner of Market and Greene Streets.  In 1928, Cheraw First Baptist Church decided to tear down the old wood frame structure and build a new brick structure.  Because of the coming of the depression years, construction was delayed, and the congregation had to utilize school building for several years.  The church, which is in use today, was finally completed in 1938.

First Baptist Church of Cheraw is an offspring of the Welsh Neck Baptist Church of Society Hill.  It was constituted in 1782 by thirteen members who resided in or near Cheraw Hill.  The first church was built near the Pee Dee River Ferry.  In 1840, a new church was completed at the corner of Market and Green Streets, which is the present site of the church.  The new church was completed in 1932.

Pee Dee Baptist Church Ruins--On the left of this picture local citizens survey the ruins of the Pee Dee Baptist Church left in the wake of a tornado which struck Cheraw at high noon on March 15, 1912.  Just to the right of center, old St. David's has escaped damage, as has the warehouse for the Cheraw-Georgetown Steamboat Company.

 

First Methodist Church--The members of the First Methodist Church erected a building on Kershaw Street in 1823 on land donated by Eli Kershaw.  In 1832, they purchased the present property on Third Street and erected the present building in 1851.  The Caston Building , named for R. T. Caston, was put into use in 1925.  In 1953, new Sunday School rooms were added.  The sanctuary has undergone renovations twice, in 1902 and 1962. 
First United Methodist Church Sanctuary--Lilies and what appear to be Cherokee Roses adorn the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church, built in 1851, for a turn-of-the-century wedding.  A remodeling in 1962 doubled the seating capacity by extending the building from the western end. 
St. David's Church--Built around 1770, (date on the card to the left is incorrect), St. David's Episcopal Church on Church Street was the last church built in South Carolina under the authority of George III.  In 1780, the church was used as quarters for the 71st Highlanders, many of whom died here and were buried in a mass grave near the church doors.  During the civil War, the doors, windows and part of a wall were damaged when a nearby Confederate ammunition dump was exploded by Sherman's soldiers.  The new St. David's Church on Market Street was constructed in 1916, and this church was used only occasionally thereafter.  The first photo is from a postcard dated 1910.  By 1913, the present steel fence was in place around the cemetery.

St David's Church.  Photo dated 1913.
 

 

 

 

Postcard showing St. David's Church, in Cheraw, South Carolina. Captions states: �Built in 1764, used as hospital for British Officers in 1777.  Has a postal stamp and double ink cancellations dated DEC 23, 1905, Cheraw, South Carolina. Also has photographer�s embossed logo in lover right corner that reads: Felck, Cheraw, SC

St. David Church, pre-1907

St. David's Episcopal Church

1910--St. David's Church,

 

Cheraw (S.C.) photograph album, 1899-1904: Digital Image Access Project Photographs, Special Collections Library, Duke University.

Cheraw (S.C.) photograph album, 1899-1904: Digital Image Access Project Photographs, Special Collections Library, Duke University.
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