Old Pickens Church

<br> <b>Old Pickens Church</b><br> A Presbyterian congregation was probably organized in the 1840s. It is impossible to fix an exact date because the church records were destroyed in a fire around the turn of the 20th century. Construction on the church began in 1849 and was completed two years later. The bricks were made from clay dug from the banks of the nearby Keowee River. The heart pine floors of the church are original, as are the pulpit and pews. There is a side entrance that leads to a gallery used by slaves. The cemetery contains over 200 graves sites. The earliest, belonging to Lt. Joseph Reed, bears the dates of 1750-1825. The church is the sole survivor of the lost town of Pickens Courthouse and today is in the care of the Historic Pickens Foundation. <br><br> <b>Pickens Courthouse</b><br> With the creation of Pickens District, a location for the district's courthouse had to be selected. In 1828 this site was chosen and named Pickens Courthouse in honor of revolutionary War hero, General Andrew Pickens. The town as laid out was eight blocks long by four wide. By the mid-1800s, the town had expanded to include hotels, general stories, a jail, an academy, a Presbyterian Church and many residences in addition to its courthouse. In 1868, Pickens District was divided into Pickens and Oconee Counties and "new" Pickens, fourteen miles away, became the new county seat. Many structures, including the courthouse, were moved to the new town. In the 1960s, much of the old town of Pickens was flooded by the water of Lake Keowee.