I love spur of the moment adventures! On a recent Saturday evening, my girlfriend and I were sitting on the couch, having our usual indecisive conversation about where we were going to eat dinner, when she showed me some pictures of an old one room church that one of her friends had uploaded to social media. Beautiful. After a quick internet search, we realized that the Mulberry Chapel Methodist Church was a short 20-minute ride away. With a couple of hours of daylight left, away we went!
An African American church, most likely built in the 1880s on land donated by former slave owner Major Jack Littlejohn, Mulberry Chapel served the Whig Hill, Asbury, and Thicketty communities. Located on Asbury Road, near Pacolet, it is one of the only extant African American churches in South Carolina dating from the first 25 years after the American Civil War.
According to internet research the graveyard has approximately 20 marked and 20 unmarked graves (I didn’t count them, but it looked like more to me). State Representative (1868-1872) and former slave Samuel Nuckles is among those buried there.
Regular services ended in the 1940s, but the Littlejohn family holds reunion services there every fall. Mulberry Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. This designation could make it eligible for Federal Preservation grants. One can only hope!
This is a personal thing for me. I despise vandalism, and remarkably, after over 70 years of standing vacant, there are absolutely no signs of it at all. None!
My Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother are buried at the Mulberry Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery. Their name are Sex, and Emerline Dawkins. I plan on visiting one day. I would appreciate it if you could provide more information on the Littlejohn’s service help in the fall.
This is about thirty minutes from my house. I don’t know a lot about it, but if you have any specific questions I would be glad to help. Maybe I can find their graves and send you a picture!