Old Brick Church a journey back in time
11/29/2011
Enjoying South Carolina’s history often involves crowds, buying tickets or spending time in musty libraries.
However, there are more than a few places well off the beaten path where one can revel both in the beauty of nature and Palmetto State history.
One such place is the Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Fairfield County.
Better known to locals as the Old Brick Church, the small, simple structure has a rich history that belies its quiet place in the sloping hills four miles north of Jenkinsville on SC Highway 213.
Built in 1788, the picturesque rectangular building has a gabled roof and bricks that were made by members of the congregation around the time the US Constitution was being written.
Its symmetry and understated, elegant masonry is a throwback to the days when some congregations combined function and form with an understanding that a house of worship didn’t necessarily have to be an ornate colossus or an unimaginative log cabin.
The Old Brick Church’s interior is as spartan as its exterior, featuring straight-back pews, a dais-style pulpit with plain rails around two sides, and a slave gallery, according to the S.C. Department of Archives and History.
