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Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church

SC PICTURE PROJECT 2 Comments

SC Picture Project / Lee County / Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church

The historic Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church in the English Crossroads area of Bishopville was constructed in 1911. It is the fourth sanctuary to serve its congregation, which was established in 1809.

Mt. Zion in Bishopville, SC

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2007 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Its historical marker (shown lower on this page) reads, “This church was established in 1809. Its first building, a frame church, was built 1.5 mi. N on Broad Branch. The congregation moved to this site in 1829 and built a second church, also a frame building, in the 1830s. Mt. Zion’s longest serving minister, Rev. William M. Reid, was the pastor here from 1833 to 1872. The cemetery here dates from 1830, and the session house was built in 1851. A third frame church, built in 1855, burned in 1910. The present Neo-Classical Revival brick church, designed by the firm of Wilson & Sompayrac, was built in 1911.”

Bishopville Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2007 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Mt Zion Marker

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2007 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2007 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2007 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Mount Zion Presbyterian Church

Bill Fitzpatrick of Taylors, 2012 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Mt. Zion – Session House


Mount Zion Presbyterian Session House

Mike Stroud of Bluffton, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church and Session House – National Register


Both Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church and the Mt. Zion Session House are listed in the National Register of Historic Places:

This Neo-Classical building, constructed in 1911, is an excellent and unusual example of an early twentieth century sanctuary in rural eastern South Carolina and one of the many designs by the architectural firm of Wilson & Sompayrac of Columbia, the most successful firm in the state during the first two decades of the century. Its principals were Charles Coker Wilson and Edwin Douglas Sompayrac.

The present sanctuary is the fourth to serve this congregation. The church is a linear gable-front, temple-form, two-story brick building laid in Flemish bond with an eastern oriented façade. Set upon a raised brick foundation surmounted by a soldier course water table, the building’s most imposing feature is its tetrastyle portico featuring a full-width masonry stair with cheek walls and monumental limestone columns and pilasters of the Ionic order. The portico’s pediment, as well as the building’s surrounding entablature, is embellished with modillions.

The sanctuary contains walls and ceiling finished in smooth plaster with monumental Doric order pilasters accentuating the wall surfaces between the large Palladian windows, at each corner and to either side of the arched overflow and balconied alcove at the west end of the room.

Directly to the rear of the church building is a small, one-story lateral-gabled frame building, constructed in 1851 as Mt. Zion’s Session House. The nominated acreage also contains a large cemetery containing graves of church members dating from ca. 1830 to the present.

Plan Your Trip: Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church

Where is Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church located?
Address: Mt. Zion Road at St. Charles Highway (SC 154), Bishopville, SC 29010
GPS Coordinates: 34.100591,-80.228383
What else should I see?
Bethany Baptist Church 5.5 miles
St. Luke Methodist 5.9 miles
Elliott Post Office 6 miles
Ashwood 8.3 miles
Show me more like this!
  • Bishopville Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • See other South Carolina National Register
    Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Judith Ann Reid Kincade says

      May 3, 2021 at 1:50 AM

      William Moultrie was my third great-grandfather, father of Thomas Goulding Reid, M.D., father of Moultrie McKay Reid, father of my father, Raymond Leighton Reid. I would love to be contacted by any relatives or interested folks by email at jr.kincade@yahoo.com.

      Reply
    2. Celie Addy says

      March 6, 2020 at 5:06 PM

      This is where my grandfather’s family, the Scotts, are buried. Thank you for these photos and the information!

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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