Antioch Christian Church (Allendale, South Carolina)

Antioch Christian Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The church in 2019
Location	Southwest of Allendale on South Carolina Highway 3, near Allendale, South Carolina
Coordinates	32.94778°N 81.41493°W / 32.94778; -81.41493
Area	4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built	c. 1835
Architectural style	Meeting House Style
NRHP reference No.	77001212
Added to NRHP	December 12, 1977

Antioch Christian Church is a historic Disciples of Christ church located near Allendale, Allendale County, South Carolina. It was built about 1835, and is a one-story, meeting house style clapboard structure with a hipped roof. The church was renovated in 1976. A cemetery, where many of Allendale's oldest families are buried, is located within the church's grounds. Founded in 1833, this church was the second Disciples of Christ congregation established in South Carolina. Its circa-1835 building is recognized as the state's oldest existing church structure of that denomination, earning it the designation "Mother Church".

Dr. William Erwin, the original owner of Erwinton, his wife and sister-in-law were all excommunicated from Kirkland Church (now Smyrna Baptist Church) in 1833 for their affiliation with other denominations. They then formed the second Christian congregation, the Disciples of Christ, in South Carolina. They held weekly meetings at Erwinton until 1835 when Antioch Christian Church was completed and dedicated. Prior to the building's completion, the congregation held worship meetings at Dr. Erwin's home.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The church exemplifies the meeting house architectural style. Its exterior features clapboard siding and rests on a low brick pier foundation, topped with a hipped roof covered in pressed tin. The west-facing main façade has double six-paneled doors with a five-paned transom, flanked by a window on each side. The right-side façade includes a single six-paneled door with a four-paned transom, alongside one window to its left and two to its right. Inside, the church maintains its simple design with plastered walls and original hand-hewn pine pews. Windows and doors on each wall allow for ample natural light and ventilation. The only major structural change occurred in the 1930s on the east façade, where two doors were created from original windows to access former Sunday School rooms; these doorways have since been covered as the rooms were removed. The ceiling features exposed natural wood beams. While the church was renovated in 1976 by the South Carolina Disciples of Christ, the interior was not part of this renovation.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Allendale County, South Carolina

References