Green Pond History
How Our Community Was Born
The Green Pond community was formed with the Green Pond Baptist Church at its center. The church was an "arm" of Keowee Baptist Church in Pickens County. On July 9th 1804, the Green Pond Baptist Church was constituted by a Presbytery composed of the Reverends Augustine Clayton, Lewis Rector and Tyrie Glenn. Tyrie Glenn became the first pastor of the church that year. The first location of the church was on the head spring of Ben's Creek. H.H. Arnold said "...at a point on the Buncombe Road, three miles west of Reidville, one mile south of Abner Creek Baptist Church, taking its name from the name of a large highland pond in the immediate vicinity." The writer notes this is the area known as Sugar Tit today, and that SC State Route 101 was once known as the Buncombe Road.
A new meeting house of logs was constructed near the current church site in the years 1817 to 1822. Brother Samuel Brown preached the first sermon in the new church building on February 23, 1822. The building was probably in the location of the current church cemetery. A new house of worship was started during the pastorate of Rev. John C. Green in 1842, but it was never used and was sold for $33 some years later.
In 1857, the church voted to build a new meeting house. The building was constructed in 1859 during the pastorate of Rev. J.L. Norman. The construction contract was given to Capt. F.L. Anderson, who built the 40' x 60' structure with slave labor for $1,100. This church had two front doors. The women used the right door and the men used the left door.
On September 2, 1956, the Green Pond congregation voted to build a new sanctuary. Ground breaking took place on September 9,1956. The new sanctuary was opened for worship on January 20, 1957. Rev. W.T. Philips was pastor. An educational building was added to this in 1962, and the old church was demolished.
The history of Green Pond Baptist Church has been a long and storied one. It was founded soon after the Declaration of Independence was ratified and has seen wars, economic boom and depression, spiritual depravity and revival, industrial revolution, scientific advancements, and population explosion. Through all of these things Green Pond Baptist Church has survived because people found relevance in its message.
~ Adapted from A Five Minute History of Green Pond Baptist Church (from the 200th Anniversary Celebration)