Smyrna Church

Smyrna Church was organized about 1786, by the Rev. John Newton and the Rev. John Simpson, Presbyterian ministers under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Presbytery. Services were at first held in the homes of the members. The first Smyrna church edifice, built on this site in 1793, was of logs, with a steeple. The first regular pastor was the Rev. John Springer, who preached here until 1801. About 1820, the church membership declined to fifteen, and these removed to Washington, to affiliate with the Washington Presbyterian Church. At this time, the Smyrna Presbyterians, through their elders, tendered the use of the church edifice to the Methodists, who accepted and soon established a flourishing Methodist Society here. The old church was in use until 1860, when it was torn down and a new building erected. On October 6, 1886, the title to Smyrna Church was passed from the Trustees of the Washington Presbyterian Church to the Trustees of the Smyrna Methodist Church. In 1911, a new building was constructed, the third Smyrna on this site. In the 1840s, an encampment was prepared near the church, and was used as a camp ground by both Presbyterians and Methodists.