Rocky Springs Baptist Church, located beside the Edisto River in rural Aiken County near Wagener and New Holland, will celebrate its bicentennial Oct. 21.
Rocky Springs Baptist ChurchThe 11 a.m. observance and worship service will be followed by a meal and an old-fashioned singing. Revival services with pastor Wayne Whaley as speaker will be held the following three evenings (Oct. 22-24) at 7 p.m.
The first constitution of a Baptist Church at Rocky Springs was written at a meeting in 1812 that found 40 members in good standing. The meeting was followed by observance of the Lord’s Supper and the washing of one another’s feet.
Early church bylaws included the duties of each member: to contribute $1 annually to form a church fund and to report any member not complying with the rules. By 1932, church membership was at 114.
Rocky Springs was originally part of Edgefield Baptist Association, and the first pastor was Samuel Marsh Jr., who was also a hymn writer. Around 1834, the church became a founding member of Edisto Association, which formed at a convention that met at Rocky Springs.
Church records from 1896 describe the church building as a simple wooden structure with poor lighting and little heat. In the years between 1900 and 1930, the church raised money to build a baptism pool, installed windows, cancelled services for four months due to a flu epidemic, and voted to construct a new building.
The church voted to meet on a weekly basis in 1956. Renovations in 1976 brought improvements to the sanctuary, which is still used today.
Whaley was called as pastor of Rocky Springs in August 2012.