Welcome to a very special place representing a critical part of American history!
Post Civil War resettlement of freed slaves, specifically this north eastern portion of Pickens County, SC;
First Ownership of lands by Black Families;
Clearing land to farm, building homes, and establishing a church, and
building the first Black Community in Pickens County SC.
The Liberia Community anchored by Soapstone Baptist Church
is an enclave of African-American culture and history established in 1865 by freed slaves.
* READ about the history of this area on this site and in the BOOK! (< click link)
* JOIN US FOR CHURCH!
* TOUR the grounds! (< click link)
*DONATE to the Endowment, to preserve the Church and Grounds in perpetuity (< click link)
2024 Join our Growing Congregation!!
Join us for worship service!
We love to meet and greet new folks!
Sunday services are at 11:00 am in the Sanctuary
or join us by phone 760-548-9893
or on the Soapstone Church Facebook page LIVE
Bible Study:
7:00 pm Wednesdays remotely, call 760-548-9893
For more information contact:
Mable Clarke
296 Liberia Road
Pickens, SC 29671
(864) 414-8470
Email: mclake1942@gmail.com or
SoapstoneChurchLiberiaSC@gmail.com
click the Deacon Mable's Corner tab to see what's happening all the time at Soapstone Church!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Keep an eye out for dates, they will be posted here and on the FB Page Soapstone Church
SCHOOL HOUSE RENOVATION!! May 3 and 4 -- come volunteer these days as the Harper Construction Company works on the renovation process!!!
Visit the new website for the Soapstone Preservation Endowment! soapstonepe.org
*Historic Marker Installation (TBA)
*Sculpture Additions (TBA)
*Book Signings and "The Story" told by Dr Coggeshall and Deacon Mable (TBA)
*Soapstone Schoolhouse Museum Opening (TBA)
Contact Mable or come by the Church on a Sunday for Service or after to purchase a copy of LIbera. $30.
Follow the Self Guided Tour which will take you to all the special places on the property, including the Slave Cemetery which had been overgrown and hidden for over a century. It has been cleaned and preserved for your visit.
Education didn't begin at this school house, but long before, as soon as the freed slaves who settled this valley began to clear the land and set up a church, education for the young and illiterate was a key motivation for the people of LIberia
Visit the Church and reminisce how it might have been 150 years ago to attend church in a Brush Arbor as the new settlers, the freed slave families, cut down the woods to make farming fields so they could live from this land.
The Praying Woman from this Rock signifies the struggle and leadership and faith of the Women of the Community to hold together their families and their church throughout the struggles they faced after the Civil War, through the Jim Crow Era to the Present day to keep Soapstone Church and its rich history preserved.
Pastor Trower leads our Sunday Service each week.
If you cannot come to the Church building, you can call in for service or for Bible Study to join us.
760-548-9893
We are also on Facebook Soapstone Church page
LIVESTREAMING!
Join us
Services
11:00 Every Sunday
Bible Study
7:00 pm Wednesdays
Chet.Trower@Yahoo.com
Every Sunday 11 am
Rev. Chester R. "Chet" Trower, Pastor of Soapstone Church, has led the congregation since 2010. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 2005 after his many years in service to our country, beginning with his service in the US Army as a Captain during the Vietnam Conflict from 1966-70.
He has been a member of many influential associations such as the Pickens County NAACP, Pickens County Ministerial Alliance, The Oolenoy River Baptist Association, and is invited to lecture throughout the community
He also has time for a beautiful family of 4 children and lives with his wife in Powdersville, SC