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  • Getting Pulled into Union County – Part 2, Union to Mount Vernon

Getting Pulled into Union County – Part 2, Union to Mount Vernon

Posted on August 27, 2016August 27, 2016 By Tom 3 Comments on Getting Pulled into Union County – Part 2, Union to Mount Vernon
Photography, Rambling

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-022

So far I’d had an interesting, completely random morning of exploration. I’d visited Buffalo and met some nice folks. I got the opportunity to tour a historic building – was actually pulled into it. It wasn’t the last time I’d get pulled into something this day. I still had lots to see and do.

I left Buffalo and drove over to Union, again, kind of randomly. Along the way I spotted some road names that intrigued me – Peakesville, Lukesville, and Meansville. Potential ghost towns, or just someone’s former estate? Anything with a “ville” on the end catches my attention. I made a note of the names and decided to save them for later.

As I pulled into town I decided to see if the Union County Museum was open. I had only been there once, before our trek out to Pinckneyville. That visit was rather brief, and I didn’t get a chance to explore the museum. If it was open, I’d try to correct that oversight.

As I passed the museum on Main Street, it looked like it was open, so I found a place to park in front of the county courthouse.

Union County Courthouse
Downtown Union
Union Museum

I went inside and was greeted by Ola Jean Kelly, director of the museum. I had met Ola Jean on my previous visit, and she remembered me. Ola told me about the financial troubles of the museum, and showed me some of the water leaks in the ceiling.

Union Museum-022
Union Museum-001

Ola Jean also showed me their latest acquisition, a hunt board table made from “pit sawed” pine.

Union Museum-003
Union Museum-004

I looked at some of the other displays in this area.

Union Museum-002
Union Museum-005
Union Museum-006
Union Museum-007
Union Museum-008
Union Museum-009
Union Museum-010
Union Museum-011

In the first room there were enlargements of historic photos from the area. There were the photos that I’ve already shared from Buffalo, as well as some from the town and surrounding areas.

Buffalo Hotel-001
Buffalo Mill Company Store-007
Buffalo Service Station-001
Buffalo Mill Company Store-007
Union Museum-021

There were also the displays on Pinkneyville that I had already seen, and images from Grindall Shoals.

Union Museum-013
Union Museum-014
Union Museum-016
Union Museum-015
Union Museum-017
Union Museum-018
Union Museum-019
Union Museum-020

The one item that really caught me eye, though, was an original 1847 copy of William Walker’s “Southern Harmony.” I tried not to drool too much.

Original Southern Harmony-001
Original Southern Harmony

I was shown the research room just before Ola Jean had to meet with someone else. I spent a bit of time, and was able to find a reference to my family’s land grant from King George in 1768.

Taylor Land Grant-001

As I was leaving, Ola Jean told me about a historic church with which I was not familiar. Mount Vernon Presbyterian was south of here off of US 176. I thought I might have to go find it. I thanked Ola Jean and headed on out.

I decided I would walk along Main Street and take some photos. There was some interesting architectural details in the building facades.

Union Buildings
Union Bank-001
Union Buildings-001

As I was walking along a woman came out of a building. I had on my RandomConnections ID badge, which she spotted. She insisted that I come inside with her and see what they were doing. How could I refuse?

Bennie Giles is the director of the Union Arts Council. This morning they were holding their “Painting with Coffee” class. They weren’t actually using coffee as a medium, but were painting as they drank coffee. I took photos of the group, as well as photos of the gallery.

Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-001
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-002
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-003
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-004
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-005
Union Arts Council Painting with Coffee-006

I chatted with the group, and told them about my friend Chris Hagebak. Chris went to Furman with me, and after a stint as a lawyer, moved to Atlanta to make a living as an artist. His work is beautiful. Chris paints portraits of his art students and clients using coffee as the medium on watercolor paper. These were posted by Chris on his Facebook page.

Chris Hagebak with Students
Hagebak Coffee Portraits

I said my goodbyes to my new friends and continue my trek. I stopped by the famous train mural by the artist Blue Sky, and took other photos on the way back to my car.

Union Buildings-002
Union Buildings-005
Union Buildings-006
Plaster over Brick-001
Union Railroad Mural
Union Museum Building

Back at my car I explored a bit more. I drove out Main Street to the Monarch Mills portion of town. The textile mill here still seems to be in operation…at least for now.

Monarch Mills-001

I also passed by the original Union School, now in use by USC-Union.

Union School

It was time for lunch. I was wondering if the old, supposedly haunted Merridun Inn was open for lunch. I drove over to it, but it didn’t look like it was open to the public. The abandoned railroad tracks near the inn looked pretty cool, so I paused for more shots.

Union Old Railroad
Union Old Railroad-002
Union Old Railroad-003

It was lunch time and I was hungry from my explorations. I first went to the local Hardees. The counter staff was screaming at the kitchen crew. I left. I remembered passing a barbecue place on the way from Buffalo, so I headed back that way. The parking lot for Midway BBQ was hopping, but I found a place to park.

Midway BBQ

One walks in and orders from the counter. They have meat-n-3, but I opted for a pulled pork sandwich with a couple of sides – blackeyed peas and fried okra.

Midway BBQ-001
Midway BBQ-002
Midway BBQ-003
Midway BBQ-004

For $6 including drink, it wasn’t too bad. In fact, it was quite good.

Fully satisfied, I headed on back toward town. I had noticed an old city cemetery on my way in, so I decided to check it out. For one reason or another I’ve kind of been off of cemeteries lately, but I decided to explore anyway.

A historical marker indicates that this was once the cemetery for Union Presbyterian Church, and was established in 1817. However, markers at the entrance to the cemetery, as well as the Find-a-Grave website list this as Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-039

My guess is that the cemetery was taken over as a commercial operation after the church relinquished it. There was a mix of modern stones with the older headstones.

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-001

There were some impressive stones and at least one family plot encircled with wrought iron. I wandered among the stones, looking for unique artwork and signature stones.

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-002
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-003
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-004
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-005
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-006
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-011
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-017
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-030
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-032

Despite the fact that there were lots of very old and impressive stones, I didn’t find any of my usual suspects as far as stone carvers are concerned. I did encounter several new names. These signatures included “L & C Union”…

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-007
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-008
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-033
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-034

…and a later “L & G Union”.

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-035
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-036

I wasn’t able to find any information on either of these stone carvers. Some of the more elaborate stones were carved by a “W. A. Nicholson”, also of Union. I guess if you have local talent, why send off for a stone from Charleston or someplace else?

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-018
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-019
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-020
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-022

I was able to find a bit more on W. A. Nicholson. There was a prominent banker in Union of that name in the late 1800s. He apparently was an associate of Ben Tillman, and was one of the first appointees to the State Dispensary Board. I’m guessing this is NOT the Nicholson on the headstones, but it’s the one that kept popping up in my searches. I was able to find a couple of references to the Nicholson in question. I found an ad in an 1879 edition of The Weekly Union Times for headstones by Nicholson.

screenshot-chroniclingamerica loc gov 2016-08-27 07-28-10

An 1886 edition of that paper has an ad for the Union Marble Works, owned by George Geddes, “successor to W. A. Nicholson.”

screenshot-chroniclingamerica loc gov 2016-08-27 07-28-59

One other unusual stone caught my eye. It was a stone above-ground vault. However, it was in the shape of an old six-sided casket. The marker had the faint rendering of a Masonic G symbol, but was otherwise illegible. Sadly, I didn’t capture the name on the stone.

Forest Lawn Cemetery Union-037
Forest Lawn Cemetery Union

By this time the mid-day heat was getting to me. I headed back to the car and AC to cool off. I road through town, admiring the stately homes that have always attracted me to Union.

Union-001
Union Houses-002
Union Houses-003
Union Houses-004

I found myself at the Union Carnegie Library. I don’t know how I’d missed this, but as far as I know I’d not visited before. The architecture was stunning.

Union Carnegie Library-002
Union Carnegie Library-001
Union Carnegie Library
Union Carnegie Library-003
Union Carnegie Library Sign

The interior space was equally impressive. There was an odd juxtaposition as the library had set up their public computers under the stained glass windows and dome space.

Union Carnegie Library-005
Union Carnegie Library-006

Just down the road from the library was the Union Methodist Church. I had spotted their cemetery, but it didn’t seem to have much of interest to me today. Given the shape of some of the stones, I would expect to find more of W. A. Nicholson’s work. However, it was getting to be too hot to explore. The architecture of the church was impressive, though.

Union Methodist Church
Union Methodist Church-003
Union Methodist Church-002

Up the road from the Methodist church were the Presbyterian church, and a small wood-frame Catholic church across from that. I couldn’t seem to get any shots without telephone and power lines, though.

First Presbyterian Church-001
Union Catholic Church-001

I decided I had time to try to find the church that Ola Jean had told me about. I headed south down US 176 and found the Mount Vernon development she described. After a couple of mis-turns, I located the church. It was a wood-framed meeting house styled structure, similar to Horn Creek Baptist in Edgefield. A sign at the entrance listed its dates of activity: 1850-1991.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-001
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-004
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-016

A marker on the building indicated that the property is under the care of First Presbyterian of Union. It looked like some restoration work was underway.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-005

The door was unlocked, so I went in. The interior was dark wood, with pews and a very simple pulpit area.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-006
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-007
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-008
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-009
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-010
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-011
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-012

Stacked in one corner was a collection of old hymnals. I glanced at a couple but they seemed quit fragile, so I didn’t handle them very much. I also resisted any urge toward larceny, even though I know these will probably just be thrown away.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-013
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-014

I turned my attention to the small cemetery. There were some very old stones, and some surprisingly new ones as late as 2014.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-015
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-017
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-018
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-020
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-021
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-028
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-027

According to the Find-a-Grave listing there are 161 interments here. I found several headstones with the “L & C Union” signature, but no others.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-026
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-025

As for the church itself, I haven’t found much history about it. There are no historical markers, and it’s not on the National Register of Historic Places. A survey report of the county lists the property, but has it marked as “ineligible” for listing on the register. No reason is given.

I did a newspaper archive search for references to the church, as well. Most of the hits were obituaries that listed the deceased as “a member of Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church.” Some of the hits in Chronicling America from the Union Daily Times were announcements about services and other activities. However, there wasn’t enough to present a history of the church.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-023

So, for now this church is a mystery. I may have to e-mail Ola Jean and see if she has some follow-up information. For now, though, I’m just delighted to have found another old historic church.

I finished up my trek by stopping by the old Beatty Bridge and looking at the river access. The Tyger River looked like it was flowing well, and I so wanted to put a boat in. The last time I was here Bob Donnan and I had taken out here in 2009, after launching near Rose Hill.

Beatty Bridge Enoree River-001
Beatty Bridge Enoree River-002
Beatty Bridge Enoree River-003
Beatty Bridge Enoree River-004
Beatty Bridge Enoree River-005

From there I wandered on back home. It had been a good day of exploring. I set out with absolutely no clue where I was going, but I ran into some great people that helped point me in the right direction. Couldn’t have asked for a better adventure.

Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church and Cemetery-022

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3 thoughts on “Getting Pulled into Union County – Part 2, Union to Mount Vernon”

  1. Alan says:
    August 28, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    Midaway Barbecue is one of Southern Living’s Top 50.
    http://www.southernliving.com/travel/bbq-restaurants

    Reply
    1. Marty McDaniel Brownlow says:
      July 30, 2023 at 12:57 am

      My family gave the land for Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church and my great grandparents are buried there.

      Reply
      1. Sherry Anne Blumer Gettys says:
        November 24, 2023 at 1:16 pm

        To: Marty McDaniel Brownlow
        From: Sherry Blumer Gettys (Nov. 24, 2023)
        sabgettys@gmail.com

        I just read in some Union County history that your family gave the land for Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church. My father preached there twice each month from 1965-1971 while he was the minister at First Presbyterian in Union. My mother played the little organ for those afternoon services. There were five children in my family and usually several of us attended the services, too. There were only few people who were there each time and I do believe that some of them were known to us as “the McDaniel sisters”. Are you related to those nice ladies? sabgettys@gmail.com

        Reply

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