Black Oak Church — Pinopolis, South Carolina

Black Oak Church once thrived along the old Santee Canal near the village of Pinopolis in Berkeley County. Part of St. John’s Berkeley Parish, the church was formed around 1800 by former members of Biggin Church who wanted to attend services closer to their plantations. Initially, members met on neighboring property owned by General William Moultrie before constructing a church. The first Black Oak Church, built in 1808, was given to local Methodists in 1846 and moved to a nearby property. It was dismantled and replaced with a new building in 1927. The church seen below was built in 1846.

For many years Black Oak Episcopal Church was a popular place of worship for settlers from England, France, and Scotland. It was demolished in 1941 when Lake Moultrie was constructed to create hydroelectric power for Santee-Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility. The graves in the Black Oak churchyard were moved to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and a cemetery near Bonneau prior to the church’s demolition. The church’s ruins are submerged in the bottom of the lake.