On the last Sunday in August, Hurricane Baptist Church in southern Laurens County will be celebrating its 175th anniversary, with new South Carolina Baptist Convention executive director-treasurer Jim Austin as keynote speaker.
The 1832 structure (with minor modifications) is located in the foreground of the current facility in the photo below and has served as the children’s center since 2002.Members will also host a block party on Aug. 25 as an outreach event to its surrounding community.
Hurricane was officially constituted with about 20 members in 1832, following a great revival in the area. But in researching their history during the past couple of years, members have come to believe the church is much older, possibly dating back to between 1764 and 1780. Records indicate that a Hurrican(e) Baptist Meeting House was the muster ground and pay site for loyalist troops in the area during the Revolutionary War, according to current pastor Greg Hellams.
Other historical documents include a deed for two acres of land sold to “The Baptists” on file in the Laurens County Court House from 1798. The price of $363 paid for the property corresponds to an amount paid for land that is now part of Hurricane’s cemetery.
“The deed is signed by three trustees. This tells us there was an active church in existence in 1798,” Hellams said.
Hurricane is also mentioned in regard to two Revolutionary War battles, Hellams noted. The Battle of Hammond Store, a running Calvary battle, occurred in December 1780. One of the stages of this battle took place directly across from the church’s site. And, in August of that same year, the Hurrican(e) Baptist Meeting House is mentioned as the location where British regulars stationed at a fort in Ninety Six camped and met up with Loyalist troops from the area prior to the Battle at Musgrove’s Mill.
“They camped in the courtyard for two days prior to the battle,” Hellams added. “The church was well known in the area in 1780. It was the site of a loyalist Christmas party and the pay site for loyalist troops in the area.”
Period historians have also found a land grant map begun in 1764, but with additional entries being made up until 1802. The map shows a seven-acre tract deeded for religious purposes to the meeting house.
Somewhere between 1832 and 1835, the church almost died out, Hellams recounted, but it was saved when 70 members of a sister congregation, Upper Durbin’s Creek United Baptist Church of Christ – later renamed Langston Baptist Church – transferred 70 of their 141 members to help re-establish Hurricane.
“We have been going strong ever since,” Hellams said, noting that 2007 is a landmark year for the church – not only because of its anniversary celebration, but also because it has participated in the founding of three new churches: one in Laurens County, and two in Ukraine.
Editor’s note: Because details of the church’s history, especially prior to the 1800s, are sketchy, Hellams requests that persons who have histories that mention Hurrican(e) Baptist Church contact him at greg@hurricanebc.org.