This small Methodist church in the Orangeburg County community of Neeses (pronounced “nieces”) was organized in 1914, not long after this village, named for local merchant and landowner J.W. Neese, was founded in 1890. When the Seaboard Air Line Railroad made Neeses a railway stop, the town’s commerce began to grow.
An article from the Orangeburg County newspaper The Times and Democrat dated June 21, 1910, says, “We have one of the finest towns now on the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.”
The article continues, “Arrangements are on foot [sic] for the organization of a new bank here. A nice building will soon be built for it, in fact, the building committee has already been employed by the directors to order the material.”
Once the highway system developed in the 1930s in South Carolina, many small railroad towns such as Neeses became obsolete. This church, however, remains active.
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Sent a comment about the Church building being moved back from road to present sight.
When Hwy 321 was widened during the early 1960’s, the entire church building was moved from the front of the lot to where it presently sits by Oswald’s Moving Service. We attended Church at the Neeses Elementary School during that time. Most of the members at the time came to watch the miraculous movement and replacement of our Church. It was a sight to behold.
This is wonderful information, thanks so much for sharing it with us!