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Willow Swamp Baptist Church

SC PICTURE PROJECT 5 Comments

SC Picture Project / Orangeburg County / Willow Swamp Baptist Church

The Orangeburg County community of Norway is home to this rotunda-style structure that houses Willow Swamp Baptist Church. While the architecture of Willow Swamp Baptist is unusual for a South Carolina church, it took more than two centuries and five buildings before this brick edifice became the current home of its congregation.

Willow Swamp Baptist Church

Andy Hunter of North Augusta, 2012 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The church was formed in 1805 when 36 members of Dean Swamp Baptist Church in nearby Springfield left to form their own church. The original members of Willow Swamp Baptist met in a private home along the church’s namesake Willow Creek until they built their first church, a simple one-room wooden building, about a mile and a half from the current church. White members and their slaves, who were also listed as members, worshiped here in separate sections.

A second church was built across the street from the present church and was utilized until Union troops burned it in 1865 during the Civil War. Financial devastation during Reconstruction prevented the congregation from rebuilding a sturdy church, but they were able to create something they called a “shelter” where the current church sits. This shelter was used as both a church and a school during these dismal days.

Members, including the former slaves, saved money over the following years for a new building. In 1869 the black members were given permission to leave and form their own church, which they did. The remaining white members were eventually able to build another wood-frame church – this one including stately columns – and worshiped there until 1920. This building was located where the cemetery now rests. In 1919 the congregation drew plans for the present church, which was completed the following year and is comprised of donated bricks. Willow Swamp Baptist Church continues to thrive.

Plan Your Trip: Willow Swamp Baptist Church

Where is Willow Swamp Baptist Church located?
Address: 1956 Willow Swamp Road, Norway, SC 29113
GPS Coordinates: 33.423897,-81.136782
Website: http://willowswampbaptistchurch.weebly.com/
What else should I see?
Cottontop 2.1 miles
Bizzell Ice House 3.2 miles
Sweden 5 miles
Denmark High School 10.7 miles
Show me more like this!
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    Comments

    1. Jane Clayton says

      March 16, 2020 at 3:21 PM

      I am from Norway, SC. My paternal grandmother, Essie Gue Williams, was born near Norway in 1888, and she and her sister, Mary Gue Jones, are buried in the cemetery across from Willow Swamp Church. Her father was Victor Gue and mother was Mary Ann Ziegler Gue.

      Reply
      • Connie Fine says

        April 2, 2020 at 12:49 PM

        Nice to meet you, I am so glad someone has responded. Victor A. Gue is mine too. His first child, Amine, was my grand, and his first, Wade Marchus, is my great. My question to you, maybe you may know, who are Victor Amadeus parents? I know John Francis Gue was their real uncle, and he died of yellow fever in Charleston in 1824.

        Reply
    2. Connie Fine says

      February 16, 2019 at 8:01 AM

      By the way, these ppl mentioned the Gues. They’re buried in the Willow Swamp Baptist Church graveyard.

      Reply
    3. Connie fineF says

      June 30, 2018 at 1:10 AM

      Related to Wade Marchus Gue, great grandfather. Second marriage to Etta Fort. Three girls born from that marriage:

      1. Annie Maybelle Gue McGugan
      2. Rhoda Rebecca Gue McGUgan
      3. Helen (?) Gue Carpenter

      Reply
      • Connie Fine says

        October 16, 2018 at 6:55 PM

        If anyone has any photos of Wade Marchus and Etta Fort Gue, his father, Amine Phillip Gue, and his father Victor Amedee Gue, which is interred in Old Union graveyard in Cope, SC. Photos of them or his wife Harriet Ann Morgan Gueany would be appreciated. They lived in Norway, South Carolina.

        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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