Soapstone Church

A promise kept

Mable Owens Clarke — the sixth-generation steward and matriarch of Soapstone — was integral to the protection of Soapstone Baptist Church.

For more than two decades, Mable conducted a monthly fish fry that drew appetites from across the region to raise funds to pay off the church’s mortgage. She continues to fulfill a promise made to her late mother to keep the doors of Soapstone open and preserve the church’s legacy. 

"My mother called me to her dying bed and asked me not to let the doors of Soapstone Baptist Church close. I did make that promise to her and to God that I would keep the doors of Soapstone Church open,” says Mable.

The conservation easement placed on the church property ensures that the six acres on which the historic church, schoolhouse, and slave cemetery rest are permanently protected from future development, such as residential subdivisions or commercial operations.

Brief history of Soapstone Baptist Church

The community of Liberia was established in Pickens County in 1865 by formerly enslaved African Americans and their families. Shortly after, Joseph McJunkin cleared a small area and created a brush arbor as a place of worship for the community. It was known as Soapstone for the signature rock outcroppings dotting the land. In time, the residents of Liberia pooled funds raised by selling crops to buy lumber and the original Soapstone Baptist Church was built. A one-room schoolhouse was erected beside the church in 1928.

In 1967, members of the Ku Klux Klan burned down the original church. The schoolhouse was spared. Led by Mable Owens Clarke’s mother, Lula Mae, the effort to rebuild Soapstone Church was completed within one year. The cinderblock structure has stood for 55 years.

In 2007, surveyors located the slave cemetery — the exact location of which had been lost to time — on the six-acre property. A volunteer effort uncovered the cemetery in a previously wooded area. 

When a financial loan for an addition to the church came to maturity in 2020, ownership of Soapstone Baptist Church was almost lost. A momentous community fundraising effort enabled the loan to be paid off in the 90 days stipulated by the bank. Protection of the six-acre property through conservation easement was completed in 2022.

Plans for Soapstone

Soapstone Baptist Church continues to hold regular services and maintain the cemetery, with plans to restore the schoolhouse and become a focal point on an African American heritage trail in the Upstate.

To preserve the integrity of the buildings and grounds and to promote the property's use as a historic site, the church and community members have established the Soapstone Preservation Endowment. The endowment will be used for capital improvements or repairs necessary to preserve, protect and promote the site's rich history.