About St. William Catholic Church
Our Church History
St. William Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Charleston, SC. Our church has a rich history of serving the community and spreading the faith. We welcome people of all cultures and backgrounds to join our community. We strive to create a welcoming environment where everyone can feel at home and grow in their faith.
The Beginning
Jeremiah Dunovant, a stonemason from Ireland, is responsible for the Catholic Church being in Mine Creek, South Carolina. Dunovant came from Ireland and helped to build beautiful St. Mary's Church in Edgefield in 1859. After completing the work on St. Mary's, Dunovant moved to a small farm and settled in an area that was then called the Mine Creek Community. While living there, Jeremiah Dunovant met and married Emiline Rodgers Salter who was instructed in the Catholic faith by her husband and became a convert to the Catholic religion. Jeremiah Dunovant's home housed a chapel that was the first Catholic Church in Saluda County. Soon there were more converts to the Catholic religion including Emiline's sister-in-law, Mary Rodgers, wife of Billie Rodgers. Mary's children also joined the church. Since there were many new converts, Jeremiah Dunovant needed a new church in Mine Creek. He went to all of the nearby non-Catholic churches, as services let out, and asked each worshiper for money to build a Catholic Church.
The Buildings
Jeremiah Dunovant built St. Joseph, the first Catholic Church in the Mine Creek area, on two acres of land set aside for a church and a cemetery. This is the present-day site of St. William's Church Cemetery. Although a church was built, a priest only made the journey to St. Joseph's a few times a year. Jeremiah Dunovant died on August 3, 1899, at the age of 82, and was buried near the front of St. Joseph. He never realized his dream of a full-time priest for St. Joseph. In 1919, Fr. LaRiviere, the first resident priest, came to serve the small church. In the early 1920s, Mr. George Rodgers deeded the Diocese of Charleston, first 1 acre, then 3.85 acres on the Ridge Spring Highway, and plans were made to build a new church. The parishioners, with the guidance and direction of Fr. Dietz, built the new church, St. William. All of the buildings, which included a church, convent, school and rectory, were of frame structure and made of lumber that was cut, planed, and dressed by the parishioners. These new buildings had all the modern conveniences of its time, including plumbing and heating. Since then a few changes have been made to the church to give it its present-day look.
