Calhoun County Museum
Come and enjoy the history of Calhoun County and South Carolina presented with a personal southern touch.
The Reverend E. F. K. Roof was the only minister who came from this old historic church. He was the son of E. J. Roof, who was the Superintendent of the Sandy Run Sunday School for more than forty years. Reverend Roof graduated from Newberry College in 1910, and the Southern Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1914. He served pastorates in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and was serving the Silver Valley Parish in Lexington, N. C. when he passed away on October 24, 1954.
The Geigers, present members of the Sandy Run Lutheran Church, are descendants of Jacob Geiger who settled in this section in 1737. The present individual communion set was the gift, in 1944, of the late Percy L. Geiger. This replaces the communion service which was the gift of Henry Muller, Sr., and which was purchased in Germany about 167 years ago. During the Confederate War, this Communion Service was buried for safekeeping, and later dug up and placed in use, almost in perfect condition, and may be seen at the Calhoun County Museum.
Land on which this church stands was granted to Conrad Holman in 1740 by King George II. The oldest section was built in the early 1800s with hand-hewn log framing pegged together with wooden pegs. The structure has been remodeled three times. It is presently a white frame building with bell tower and steeple. The historical marker here was unveiled June 7, 1970.
The parish was established in 1765-1768. The present structure was built in 1851-1852; its style is Gothic with Greek Revival influence. In 1800, the church site was moved from the public road from Charleston to Columbia near Halfway Swamp, and again in 1815 to a two-acre plot of land given by Andrew Heatly. The present building is the fourth church building used by the congregation. A communion service presented to the church by Mrs. Anne Lovell in 1819 is still in use, as is a chalice given by Tacitus Gaillard in 1777.
George Sterling, explorer and Indian trader, received a 570-acre land grant in March of 1704, and settled here when Santee and Congaree Indians were living along banks of the river. Sterling’s daughter Mary married Richard Heatly in 1714 and moved here about 1717. Their son, William, born 1718, was thought to be the first European child born in the area. After Heatly’s death in the early 1720’s, Captain Charles Russell married the widow Mary Sterling Heatly and by 1725 they were living on a part of the original land grant, then owned by William. This land was sold to Russell in 1731.
Captain Russell had served as Commandant of “Fort Congaree” near the present town of Cayce from 1718 until the end of its operation in 1722. He and Mary Sterling Russell built their home on the Cherokee path near Amelia. Appointed to the offices of Justice of the Peace and Captain of the Rangers, in 1734 Russell was also appointed by Governor Johnson as agent for the three townships of Amelia, Saxe-Gotha and Orangeburg. When he died in 1737, he was serving as Agent to the Cherokees. The Russell home was a stopping place for Indians using the Cherokee Path. Later, Mrs. Russell was among the residents of the area who permitted Reverend John Giessendanner to hold services in their homes. A chapel was built nearby in 1757 and services were held there.
Calhoun County Historical Sites (cont.)
Property of Calhoun County Museum Archives.
Not to be used without written consent.
