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In the midst of a dreadful “ war, in a situation that saw most of the men away in the army and their families at home facing privation and actual want, the community met in the little frame structure at Chick’s Springs on August 28, 1864, to organize the Chick’s Springs
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Baptist Church.
JEAN MARTIN FLYNN History of the First Baptist Church of Taylors, South Carolina, 1964
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TAYLORS FAMILY: As we arrive at the 150th Anniversary Celebration of our church,
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I am honored to be leading you as your pastor. Taylors is truly a special place. As is chronicled through the following pages, the story of Taylors First Baptist is the history of a church
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that through wars, location changes, economic turmoil, and community and cultural shifts, has stayed together and stayed the course. It has done so in response to Jesus’ simple but
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clear command to reach and disciple people from Taylors to the ends of the earth. Yet, the heart of our story is best discovered in the hearts
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of its people and pastors, the laity and leaders God used to build His church ever since it gathered in 1864. Many of these people are long gone; some are still with us today. But the story of God’s people at Taylors leaves us with one resounding thought: we are their legacy. It’s our history and our calling, a calling that was proclaimed by the waters of Galilee, then the waters of Chick Springs, and is still called out to this day… “Go and make disciples.”
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Enjoy this wonderful story. To God be the glory, great things He has done.
YOUR PASTOR,
PAUL
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table of contents Beginnings The First Meeting Partnership of Churches Taylor’s Station The Rail Mill Village Taylors TownSquare A Modern Taylors The Changing Times Building Additions The New Sanctuary The Fellowship Hall Reaching Around The World Davis Lar Education at Taylors Today’s Worship Center Worship HopeNet The Church in the Community Looking to the Future
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BIOS & TESTIMONIES 8 13 18 20 22 23 25 26 33 36 38 42
Alfred Taylor Kaye Henderson Warren Jack Nanney H. Edwin Young Cliff Barrows and Jimmie Harley Jordana Megonigal Rosemary Holt Ernest Carswell, Jr. Anne Phillips Spruell Frank Page Daryl Hopkins Paul Jimenez
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THE CHICK SPRINGS HOTEL
I THE BEGINNINGS
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he beginnings of Chick Springs—and eventually Taylors and Greater Eastside
areas of Greenville—can be traced to the decades
Joe Henson diving into the swimming hole at Chick Springs.
n 1840, a doctor from Charleston named Burwell Chick purchased the land and opened the first
summer resort at Chick Springs. Over the next hundred years, four hotels would be built (and sequentially burn down) on the site located near the intersection of the present Chick Springs Road and Main Street in Taylors.
Postcard of the Chick Springs Hotel.
following the opening of the region for settlement in the late 1700s. Although this hotel generated a community of As early as 1785, the first settlers arrived here and
summer visitors, the economic benefits to the area
began the process of making this place a home.
firmly placed this part of Greenville County onto the
With its natural spring, the location was ideal. It
map. Visitors from as far away as New York City and
would not be until 1840, however, that the first
New Orleans traveled to visit Chick Springs, enjoy its
major development occurred—one that would
amenities and drink its water, which was believed
influence the area for the following hundred years.
to bring good health and even offer healing benefits. Historically, the Taylors area has been a gathering place for locals.
These early years were bright, but, as the tide of history turned, life in the South was about to change.
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MOVING DOWN THE LINE A train passes Taylor’s Station in the 1970s.
THE BEGINNINGS OF TAYLOR’S STATION
A gas station that was once located on Main Street in Taylors.
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oday Taylors, not Chick Springs, is the namesake for the community. As the rail line came through
Alfred Taylor’s property, it shifted the economic center of the community from Chick Springs to Taylor’s Station as businesses moved to be closer to the railway.
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he way we get from place to place has a profound As the post office, school, and other community
impact on how we build our communities. We take
this fact for granted, but nowhere is this more clear than
organizations moved from Chick Springs to Taylors
in the economic shift that took place in the Chick Springs
Station, Chick Springs Church completed its move
area in late 1880.
in January, 1886, to a piece of property deeded to the church by Alfred Taylor himself. Shortly after,
As the Reconstruction period after the Civil War ended,
The Flynn Family home in 1901.
in October, 1887, the church requested its name be
the local economies of the South began to pick back
changed from Chick Springs to Taylor’s Church in the
up. Rail transportation promised to make moving
records of the Greenville Association.
goods much faster and more efficient as the Industrial Revolution moved forward. Though the line changed
Pieces of the original octagonal structure were
hands many times during construction, what is today the
disassembled and moved to complete the new
Norfolk Southern Rail Line was completed and hosted its
structure, still octagonal shaped, that sat where our
first train from Charlotte to Greenville on April 26, 1873.
present Chapel sits today.
One of the stops on this route? Taylor’s Station.
A hand-drawn historical map of the intersection of present-day Main Street and Taylors Road.
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15 WHERE IS TAYLORS?
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REBUILDING COMMUNITY IN TAYLORS
he present day area of Taylors is situated right off of Wade Hampton Boulevard, about eight
miles from Greenville, and three miles from Greer, but forever at the center of the history of this area. That is, if you measure the center of Taylors as Main Street.
Taylors, an unincorporated area, means something
Just down Main Street from Taylors FBC was Taylors High School, rebuilt in 1948. Today, the school building is home to Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Participants at a Taylors TownSquare Meeting.
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n October 2012, born out of a community gardening initiative of a HopeNet ministry
at Taylors FBC called R3 Ministries, Taylors TownSquare had its first meeting to provide the Taylors Community a place to gather together to build relationships, be inspired, and to find common
a bit different depending on whom you ask. The 29687 zip code–by far the broadest definition
name is traced back to the heydays of the railroad.
of Taylors–stretches all the way to the North
Taylors, however, is much more than a map dot. It is
Greenville University campus over ten miles north
a place of passion. Today, Taylors operates almost
Seeking to get to know the people in the Taylors
of Main Street. The Taylors Fire and Sewer District
like the critical joints of our bodies. It is the space
Community, we quickly discovered that most
is smaller, but still stretches from just north of
between cities, the substance that holds Greenville,
everyone in Taylors wanted to get to know their
Stallings Road to Brushy Creek Road.
Greer and the Greater Eastside communities together. And like tissue in the human body, it is a
So where is Taylors? Historically and physically, it lies along Main Street, given that the origin of the
place that holds life.
goals with one another.
Alex Reynolds leads a Taylors TownSquare meeting.
neighbors as well. The start of these meetings, coupled with the renewed activity at the Taylors Mill, has brought new life to the historic areas of our community.
Nearly two years later, Taylors TownSquare continues to gather monthly. Spurred on by the passion found in the Taylors Community, Greenville County began work on a Taylors Community Plan that will guide the development of the area for years to come. With many more exciting projects in the making, Taylors looks to continue to be a vibrant area of Greenville County.
Taylors High School Class of 1937.
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21 PASTOR BIO H. EDWIN YOUNG
FIRST SERVICE IN THE 1970 SANCTUARY
Pastor, Second Baptist Church Houston, Texas Pastor of Taylors FBC, 1968 – 1971
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r. H. Edwin Young was born on August 11, 1936 in Laurel, Mississippi. Following graduation from
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high school in Laurel, Dr. Young entered the University of Alabama as an engineering major. Midway through
fter the trauma in the Taylors Community that was the closing of the Southern Bleachery
his freshman year, challenged by an atheist in his dorm
His ministry is marked by a passion for reaching the
and Print Works in 1965, the deacons of the church
who questioned his belief in God, he began to seek God’s
next generation for Christ, with a strong emphasis on
decided not to present the plans for the new
purpose for his life. Six months later he felt led by God to
programs for children and youth. He also has played a
sanctuary to the church. A few years later, Jack
become a pastor, and enrolled at Mississippi College to
vital role in the communities in which he has served.
Nanney ended his pastorate, and Ed Young began
continue his education.
He was instrumental in the creation and organization of
his tenure. Under his leadership, on April 27, 1969,
Houston’s relief work following Tropical Storm Allison
the church began the process of constructing its
and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Dr. Young was elected
new sanctuary.
president of the Southern Baptist Convention in June of 1992 and again in June of 1993.
The steeple being placed on the 1970 sanctuary.
In the spring of 1970, just in time for Easter Sunday, the first service was held in the new sanctuary on
Dr. Young is a gifted and dynamic communicator, seen
March 29. A few finishing details, including the organ,
and heard across the country and throughout the world
were not ready for that initial Sunday, but for the first
on Winning Walk, Second’s broadcast ministry. He is
time in nearly fifty years, the people of Taylors First
also the author of many books.
Baptist Church gathered to worship in a new facility.
Today, Dr. Young is senior pastor of Houston’s Second
He and his wife, Jo Beth, have three sons, all in the
By September 1974, the final pieces of this phase of
Baptist Church, one of America’s largest and fastest
ministry, and eleven grandchildren.
building were completed, with the footprint of the
growing congregations. During his thirty-six years as pastor, the church has experienced tremendous growth, with a current membership exceeding 65,000. Under Dr. Young’s leadership, Second Baptist pioneered the concept of one church in multiple locations, and currently has five campuses in the Greater Houston area.
The first service in the 1970 sanctuary.
church now more than doubled.
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PASTOR BIO ERNEST CARSWELL, JR. D.MIN. Pastor of Taylors FBC, 1972 - 2000
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r. Carswell was born July 27, 1935, in Quitman, Georgia. He faithfully served as pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church
A 1960’s rendering of a future church campus expansion.
for twenty-eight years, from 1972–2000. Under his leadership the church grew to become one of the most mission–minded
FELLOWSHIP HALL:
and respected churches in the state, and during his tenure our present sanctuary of worship was constructed. He is a graduate of Baylor University and Southern Baptist
To quote his book entitled “ The Best of All Good News,” Dr. Carswell states, “Many a person begins in life with noble intentions and high resolves. Then they are suddenly confronted with opposition, temptations, and difficulties. It is at this point
a large room in a church building where people gather for friendly association with others who share interests.
the greatest of life’s temptations come. The choices before them are to cave in, compromise, or to carry on. It takes a real
on.” Ernest Carswell “stayed the course.” Upon his retirement
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Carswell credits God and Taylors’ members, who are “a gracious
whether stopping by to get a cup of coffee,
and receptive people,” for harmony in the church and for
lingering to chat or pray with a friend, or
Theological Seminary, with an earned doctorate of ministry from
allowing him to “endure to the end and not fall away at
worshiping at our Modern service. It is the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a D.D. from
the finish.”
place where we share a meal on Wednesday
man or woman to choose to stay the course and continue right
William Jewell College of Missouri. Dr. Carswell previously served Widowed shortly after his retirement, he currently resides in
South Carolina before answering God’s call to Taylors. On June 1,
Greenville with his wife, Betty Jean, whom he married in 2008.
Tommy, moved to Taylors, South Carolina.
Hall serves as a hub for all members,
nights, celebrate marriages, encounter God
as pastor to churches in Kentucky, Georgia, and in Rock Hill,
1972, Dr. Carswell, his wife, Jerri, and two young sons, Ernie and
n any given Sunday, the Fellowship
through Bible study and worship, and meet together for just about everything. Completed in 1982 along with new preschool facilities, this building has served as a church and community facility not only for Taylors First Baptist Church, but also for the great Taylors Community. Taylors FBC has a rich history of opening its doors to the community.
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Taylors First Baptist Church continues to encourage our members in reaching their neighbors, our community & nation, and all nations.
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Ladies of all generations enjoy a special night at Girlfriends & Chocolate.
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oday, 150 years after the founding of our church, we stand looking back and looking forward. Behind us, we have a century
and a half of godly people who came together to form a community, seeking that Jesus Christ and His love be made known in this corner of Greenville County and beyond.
We are their legacy. As we look toward the years ahead, we are compelled to ask ourselves, “What will be our legacy?” and “What will we do to make disciples of all nations, beginning here in Taylors, and moving out to the nations?”