A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

To Request the Department of Transportation name the portion of South Carolina Highway 417 in Spartanburg County from the Enoree River to South Carolina HIghway 101 "Old Antioch Church Way" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.

 

Whereas, in 1761 nearly a dozen families of Scotch-Irish decent from Pennsylvania settled on the branches of the Tyger River in what was then the Spartanburg District. Their numbers increased as a colony from the north of Ireland settled upon the highlands adjoining the Tyger River settlement. Their reverence for God was such that as soon as they established their homes in the forests of the new world they set about making arrangements for a public place of worship; and

 

Whereas, a place of equal distance between the two colonies was chosen and the first sanctuary was built in 1765. Organized in 1772 as Nazareth Presbyterian Church, it is considered the mother of surrounding churches as wherever her members migrated they formed a church. Antioch Presbyterian Church was formed by members from Nazareth as a more conveniently located place of worship due to the distance settlers had to travel coupled with their limited means of transportation; and

 

Whereas, Antioch Presbyterian was organized on August 17, 1845, in the District of Spartanburg near the Cashville Post Office by the Reverend William Carlyle along with three ruling elders. A gift of ten acres of land was donated for a church and burial ground. Here they erected a plain and simple white frame building for the newly formed church to worship; and

 

Whereas, during the early years, the church was serviced by a succession of pastors, many who also were serving nearby churches. The years 1861 to 1865 saw attendance dwindle as men were called to serve the Confederacy during the War Between the States. After the war, the church struggled as families moved to surrounding towns to survive, with most of its membership settling in the town of Reidville around 1883. The first recorded session meeting of Antioch Church in Reidville was on January 2, 1884, in the chapel at Reidville Female College; and

 

Whereas, a donation of two acres of land in the Town of Reidville became a cemetery. A white-framed building erected on a plot of ground adjacent to the Reidville Female College became the new Antioch Presbyterian Church, where the congregation held its first meeting in the fall of 1889. However, there still was strong sentiment in the hearts of some members for the church in the community of Cashville, as funerals and burials were still being conducted there; and

 

Whereas, on July 3, 1904, the Home Missions Committee, acting on a request by nine petitioners to reorganize Antioch, met and Old Antioch was declared reorganized. Once reestablished, Antioch was said to have grown more rapidly than any other church in the Synod of South Carolina. In the prosperous years following World War I, farsighted church members envisioned a greater and larger Antioch Presbyterian Church which was built and dedicated June 30, 1930; and

 

Whereas, the country and the church suffered in the grip of the Great Depression during the 1930s. During World War II, Antioch did what it could to alleviate the suffering among those called to serve. The ensuing decades saw Antioch decline in membership, with only sixty-four communicant members in 1972. On September 23, 1973, the congregation of Antioch voted to withdraw from Enoree Presbytery and the Presbyterian Church United States. The congregation was officially received into the membership of Calvery Presbytery of the newly organized National Presbyterian Church, later known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), on October 17, 1973; and

 

Whereas, on September 16, 2023, Antioch Presbyterian Church marked the occasion of its 180th anniversary with historical addresses by Mr. Melvin L. Duncan Sr. and Pastor Zachary Groff, and a fellowship lunch. Dr. Joseph A. Pipa Jr. delivered a special adult Sunday school class on the theme of biblical church revival as a part of the festivities; and

 

Whereas, with a rich history spanning 180 years, dedicated to proclaiming Christ, and fostering a vibrant Christian community, it is only fitting and proper that Antioch Presbyterian's legacy be preserved with a portion of highway in Spartanburg County named in its honor. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, Request the Department of Transportation name the portion of South Carolina Highway 417 in Spartanburg County from the Enoree River to South Carolina Highway 101 "Old Antioch Church Way" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

----XX---