• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SC Picture Project

The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

  • FIND A LANDMARK
    • BY CITY
    • BY COUNTY
    • BY CATEGORY
    • BYGONE LANDMARKS
  • ADD IMAGES
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE

Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall

SC PICTURE PROJECT Leave a Comment

SC Picture Project / Lexington County / Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall

Mt. Hebron Methodist, located in West Columbia, has had four churches over the years. The original house of worship stood near this location at a place called Half Way Ground. The second house of worship was erected here in 1837 on land donated by John and Elizabeth Roof. The present sanctuary, which dates to 1963, is the fourth to house the congregation and the third to occupy this site.

Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The simple frame building shown above was added to Mt. Hebron’s grounds in 1862, during the Civil War. Its purpose was to serve as a meeting hall for the local chapter of the Sons of Temperance, a national organization established to oppose alcohol consumption.

Mt. Hebron Temperance Building

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The structure was built by Saludaville Division No. 47 of the Sons of Temperance, which formed in late 1858. In 1871 the group changed its name to Mt. Hebron Sons of Temperance. The chapter disbanded with the establishment of the State Dispensary in 1893. The State Dispensary, a system created in 1893 by Governor Ben Tillman, mandated that liquor sold in South Carolina be bottled and distributed within the state. This system was conceived by Tillman as a means to generate revenue from liquor sales during a time when Prohibition was gaining popularity across the South and the nation as a whole. The State Dispensary operated until 1907, though some counties continued to use it until 1916. That year, the South Carolina General Assembly voted to prohibit the sale of alcohol in South Carolina period.

The meeting hall for the Sons of Temperance remained in use by Mt. Hebron Methodist Church as an education building. In 1940s the men’s Bible study class renovated the building. It was again restored in 1979. The building continues to be used as a classroom and has also served local Boy Scouts. Today the building sits behind the church and adjacent to the graveyard.

Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall is listed in the National Register:

Local tradition and contemporary records indicate that the Mount Hebron Temperance Hall was constructed in 1862 as a meeting room for members of the local temperance group. Located in West Columbia, it is the only identified building constructed specifically for use as a temperance meeting hall remaining in Lexington County. It is associated with the long and generally unsuccessful state and national temperance movement of the nineteenth century. Interest in temperance in South Carolina increased as the nineteenth century progressed. In 1829 the first statewide temperance society was organized, and by 1847 the South Carolina division of the national organization known as the Sons of Temperance had been chartered. In South Carolina local societies were formed as subdivisions of the state organization. One such group formed in the neighborhood of the Mount Hebron Methodist Church. A charter was issued to the Saludaville Division No. 47 by the national division in December 1858. Although many of the members of the temperance society were also members of Mount Hebron Methodist Church, the division did not meet in the church building. The hall is a small, one-story rectangular structure sheathed in weatherboard, with a gabled cypress shingle roof. It stands in the churchyard of the Mount Hebron United Methodist Church. The interior has a single room with wide board flooring and flushboard walls and ceiling. There is no plumbing or wiring. Eventually the church has taken over the temperance hall for use as a Sunday School building and Boy Scout Hut. The building was restored in 1979.

Plan Your Trip: Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall

Where is Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall located?
Address: 3050 Leaphart Road, West Columbia, SC 29169
GPS Coordinates: 33.999324,-81.124671
Website: http://www.mthebronumc.com
What else should I see?
Old Saluda Factory 4.2 miles
Gunter-Summers House 5.4 miles
Midlands Technical College 5.6 miles
Cayce Historical Museum 6.2 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • West Columbia Historic Sites
    Mt. Hebron Temperance Hall Map

    Please Help Us Stay Online

    We’d like thank everyone who generously supports the South Carolina Picture Project. You provide us with the inspiration and financial support we need to keep doing what we do. Every reader’s contribution, larger or small, is valuable. If you have enjoyed this website or found it helpful, please pitch in. Each donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

    Support the SC Picture Project!

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    You may also like

    You may also like

    Saluda Factory Historic DistrictOld Saluda Factory Default ThumbnailJohn Fox House Default ThumbnailWittenberg Lutheran Church Gunter-Summers HouseGunter-Summers House Duncan's Creek Presbyterian ChurchDuncan’s Creek Presbyterian Church

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    FIND A LANDMARK

    Why This Site Matters

    Help Keep This Site Online

    We depend on the support of today’s readers to document South Carolina’s landmarks for future readers. Please help us continue this important work by making a donation below.

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    Recent Posts

    • H.L. Hunley
    • Strand Theater
    • Camden Depot
    • Charleston City Marina
    • Secession Hill

    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.

    Footer

    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.

    CONTACT US

    We’d love to hear from you! Send us a quick email at share@scpictureproject.org.

    If you are looking for permission to use a photo, please reach out directly to the photographer listed in the image’s credit.

    JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

    The South Carolina Picture Project has two Facebook groups. One is dedicated to SC Historic Landmarks and Iconic Landscapes, and the other is dedicated to SC Nature and Wildlife.

    South Carolina Picture Project © 2022 · All Rights Reserved