Does anyone have any good information on the "old Sawmill Baptist church" other than what is in the local history books? I have seen a couple of references to it being built in 1820, but another page states that Rev. Joshua Lewis preached there up until his death in 1812 and his grave may still be seen at "Old Saw Mill". (page 231, J.A.W. Thomas's "HISTORY OF MARLBORO CO., SC". I am trying to determine if the two acres of land Capt. Phillip Pledger gave to the "Baptist church" in 1785 might be the land Old Sawmill was first built on, and maybe that is why the connotation is used "Old Sawmill". I am guessing it was rebuilt in 1820, according to page 245, ..".the Baptist living in the town at that time worshipped at Saw Mill and had just built a new church there in 1820. On page 234-35, " In September, 1832, this entry was made upon the minute book ; "The church met at new meeting house in Bennettsville." This is when the congregation decided the town was going to start growing around the new courthouse. According to the history books, this is now an African-American church, but there must be some old graves of the early settlers around somewhere. And the Pledger land was in that area. Would appreciate hearing from anyone with further information on it's early history. This area is on the east side of the Pee dee River and about three miles north of the road leading from B'sville to Society Hill Joanne Harley New Bern,NC harleyclan@coastalnet.com

Hi Joann Marlboro County was formed in 1785, that's when the first Courthouse was built nearby in the Carlilse community, so this date coincides with the new construction there. There are early settler graves there, my Great,Great,Great Grandfather Major Richard Dudley, a doctor, died in 1823 and was buried there. But he was disinterred a year later, and moved to what is now known as Evergreen Cemetery in Bennettsville, after his widow, Ann Newberry Dudley, bought the first lot in Bennettsville and had built the Marlborough Inn, across from the new Robert Mills designed Courthouse. The sawmill was known as Dudley's sawmill, presumably owned by Richard, but I don't know if he built it, or bought it from someone else. I would guess that it dated back to the creation of the Carlilse comminity in the late 1780's, and that he bought it after he moved there from N. Carolina around 1815. At 09:16 PM 3/8/02 -0500, you wrote: >Does anyone have any good information on the "old Sawmill Baptist church" >other than what is in the local history books? I have seen a couple of >references to it being built in 1820, but another page states that Rev. >Joshua Lewis preached there up until his death in 1812 and his grave may >still be seen at "Old Saw Mill". (page 231, J.A.W. Thomas's "HISTORY OF >MARLBORO CO., SC". I am trying to determine if the two acres of land >Capt. Phillip Pledger gave to the "Baptist church" in 1785 might be the land >Old Sawmill was first built on, and maybe that is why the connotation is >used "Old Sawmill". I am guessing it was rebuilt in 1820, according to page >245, ..".the Baptist living in the town at that time worshipped at Saw Mill >and had just built a new church there in 1820. On page 234-35, " In >September, 1832, this entry was made upon the minute book ; "The church met >at new meeting house in Bennettsville." This is when the congregation >decided the town was going to start growing around the new courthouse. >According to the history books, this is now an African-American church, but >there must be some old graves of the early settlers around somewhere. And >the Pledger land was in that area. Would appreciate hearing from anyone >with further information on it's early history. This area is on the east >side of the Pee dee River and about three miles north of the road leading >from B'sville to Society Hill > >Joanne Harley >New Bern,NC >harleyclan@coastalnet.com > > >

Thank you for the information on the Sawmill Baptist church, Jeff. I believe , after reading everything, that the first group to break away from the Welsh Neck group had some kind of meeting house in Cheraw Hill, organized in 1782, and the group that broke away from it organized the Old Sawmill Baptist Church which was probably built on the two acres of land stated in Capt. Phillip Pledger's records as being given to the "Baptist Church" in 1785. Pledger's son- in- law, Tristram Thomas is buried there with his second wife. It states that Rev. Joshua Lewis preached at both Cheraw and Sawmill and died ca. 1812, and is buried at Old Sawmill. The congregation built a new Sawmill in 1820, but left it to go into the new city limits where the new courthouse was being built with a new church in 1832 which is probably the Thomas Memorial Baptist. At any rate, the old Sawmill Church predates Cashway by about three years, which was organized by Moses Pearson and some of his friends : " Moses Pearson then helped established the Cashaway Neck Church of Christ on the banks of the Great PeeDee River in Marlboro Co. in 1788 near the border with Darlington Co and next to the present Hwy. #34. The members had broken away from The Welsh Neck church and had been meeting at Pearson's house until they arranged for the land and building of the Cashaway church. Moses Pearson & Joseph Allison, for ten pounds sterling, bought one acre of land from John Brown near Brown's Mill on Cleveland Hill for said church. Other names as witnesses: Matthew M. Murfee, Jesse Brown, Rachel Pearson, attested to before Tho. Evans in 1792. It seems like I saw something along the way that pointed to Pledger having a mill. Will have to dig further. Joanne