Soapstone Preservation Endowment

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but slavery in South Carolina didn’t officially end until April 1865, with the close of the Civil War.

The 1865 census recorded 4,000 enslaved individuals in the Pickens District—modern-day Pickens and Oconee Counties—in northwestern South Carolina. These newly freed people sought new opportunities and lands of their own. Similar to the treatment of Native Americans, the land available to former slaves was largely that which held little value to white landowners.

Several hundred of these newly freed individuals sought to establish a community in the mountains of northern Pickens County, forming what became known as the Liberia Community. They worked the poor, rocky soils as tenant farmers. With earnings from their crops, they eventually purchased land to establish their own farms, beginning a new chapter in American history.

At the heart of the community, in an area that had been used for centuries by the Cherokee as a mine to craft cooking implements, the new residents established a brush arbor atop one of the soapstone rock outcrops as a place of worship. Later, they built a simple wooden church, and in the early 1920s, constructed a one-room school—without assistance from the Rosenwald family, who funded over 5,000 one-room schools for Black children across the South.

The rise of textile mills in Upstate South Carolina and automobile plants in the North drew people away from the community in search of better economic opportunities. Farming the rocky mountain soils, dealing with crop failures, and battling insect infestations made life difficult. Yet, the mid-20th century presented even greater challenges. In the 1950s, white landowners took control of more valuable land, often at gunpoint, sometimes during the cotton harvest when land could be quickly sold for cash.

As recently as the late 1960s, the heart of the community—Soapstone Baptist Church—was burned by arsonists in the wave of Black church burnings that swept the South. But the resilience of the residents prevailed. They sold vegetables in nearby towns like Marietta, Pickens, Easley, and Greenville. In just one year, a new Soapstone Church stood proudly atop a hill, looking out toward iconic Table Rock Mountain.

As continued outmigration threatened the future of the tiny church, one wayward resident, Mable Owens Clarke, returned from Boston to care for her aging parents. Mable had promised her 104-year-old mother that she would never let the doors of Soapstone Church close. This promise led to monthly fish fries, which for more than two decades of the 21st century generated funds to support the church.

Just as things appeared to stabilize, in 2020, the bank that held the mortgage on the church addition called the remaining $50,000 note, intending to sell it to a developer. With only 90 days to pay the debt, the situation seemed impossible. Yet, an outpouring of support from around the region and even from Europe made a miracle possible, and the full amount was repaid.

To ensure the future of the site would never again be threatened, a conservation easement was placed over the property in 2021, limiting future uses to a Christian church or historic site. Support came from the non-profit Upstate Forever, along with funding from area conservationists and the SC Conservation Bank.

To further guarantee that funds would always be available to protect and promote the history of the Liberia Community and Soapstone Baptist Church, friends of the community created the Soapstone Preservation Endowment in 2022. To date, more than $500,000 has been raised toward a $1 million perpetual fund, which will provide annual earnings to care for the building and grounds forever.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we boldly ask for your support in reaching our goal in raising $50,000.