Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery


  • Address: SC 642
  • Vicinity: About 0.5 mi SE of jct with SC 165
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Site

The church at Dorchester on the northeast bank of the Ashley River was commenced to be built in 1696 by a colony from Dorchester, Massachusetts, which removed with their minister, the Rev. Mr. Lord, and left again (for the most part) in 1752 under the care of his successor... for Midway, Liberty County, Georgia, where they built a church thirty miles south of Savannah. The Revolution broke up and scattered the [Dorchester] congregation.... In 1790 the rebuilding of the Congregational Church or Meeting House (on the same foundation, and a part of the walls remaining in perfect strength) began to be agitated and subscriptions taken. Those who contributed to the noble work were of various denominations, and many residing at a distance.... They began in 1793 to cart bricks from the old parsonage at the Episcopal Church of Dorchester out to repair the Meeting House and in spring of 1796 the church was finished and the small congregation returned to their ancient but renovated moorings after an absence of forty three years. This was truly the centennial of their place of worship, just as it had at first been built in 1696. It had not been transformed into new or loftier proportions; it was simply repaired, the foundation and part of the walls have never been demolished. - Our Forefathers: Their Homes and Their Churches, Elizabeth Anne Poyas, 1860.


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1700/00/00 Puritans Owners White Meeting House is built as early as 1696. It is named after Rev John White of England, the minister who had helped sponsor the establishment of Dorchester, MA in 1630.
1744/00/00 Rev George Whitefield Vocation Rev George Whitefield preaches at the Old White Meeting House. First Great Awakening
1781/00/00 White Meeting House burns during the American Revolution.
1793/00/00 Old White Meeting House merges with the congregationalist at Beech Hill, becoming The United Independent Congregational Church of Dorchester and Beech Hill. Over the next few years, they renovate the interior and add a roof to the existing c 1700 walls.
1886/08/31 Old White Meeting House is demolished by the Charleston Earthquake. 1886 Charleston Earthquake

Data »

Particulars for Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery:
Historic Use Cemetery
Area of Significance Exploration-settlement
Criteria Historic Event
Owner Private
Area of Significance Religion
Historic Use Religious Property
Sight Category Site
Area of Significance Social History



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration: 8th February 2005

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name: Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery
Registry Address: SC 642, approximately .5 mi. SE of jct. with SC 165
Registry Number: 97000445
Resource Type: Site
Owner: Private
Architect: unknown
Architectural Style: No style listed
Area in Acres: 5
Contributing Sites: 2
Non-Contributing Structures: 1
Other Certification: Date received-pending nomination
Certification: Listed in the National Register
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: Local
Area of Significance: Exploration-settlement, Religion, Social history
Applicable Criteria: Event
Criteria Consideration: Religious property, Cemetery
Significant Year: c 1700, 1781, 1794
Historic Function: Religion, Funerary
Historic Sub-Function: Religious structure, Cemetery
Current Function: Vacant, not in use, Funerary
Current Sub-Function: Cemetery

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