The Leesville Southern Methodist Church was officially found in 1965, but traces back to informal meetings in 1854. This sanctuary was built ca. 1866 and was remodeled several times since then. In 1934, this church along with other white Methodists in the southern states who opposed the unification of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Episcopal Church. The two church organizations had split in 1844 over the issue of slavery. The Southern Methodist Church name was adopted in 1945 and was founded on the fear northern domination and racial integration.

Location: Laurens, South Carolina

See also: Walter Edgar’s Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/show/south-carolina-from-a-to-z/2019-08-29/s-is-for-southern-methodist-church