Oolenoy Baptist Church

Front: This church, named for the Cherokee chief, Woolenoy—the spelling was changed to Oolenoy in 1827—was organized in 1795 by Rev. John Chastain, who became its first minister. By 1797, with 50 members, it was admitted to the Bethel Baptist Association; it has since been a member of the Saluda, Twelve Mile River, Pickens, and Pickens-Twelve Mile Baptist Associations. Reverse: Rev. Tyre L. Roper, the longest-serving minister here, preached at Oolenoy from 1840 until his death in 1876. The first sanctuary, a log building, was replaced about 1830 by a frame church, later enlarged in 1876 and 1899. The present brick sanctuary was built in 1952. The cemetery includes the graves of many veterans of American wars from the Revolution through World War II.