The present church building is the fifth that has been built on the
same site.
clay. The lops weren’t even sawed
off smoothly at the corners. Prob¬
ably it was floored eventually, but in
the beginning worshippers sat on the
sleepers with their feet on the ground.
The roof was of a design unknown
to the present generation. The rafters
were placed and sheathed in the
customary manner. Then wide boards
were laid across this sheeting, parallel
with the rafters. These boards were
not nailed, but were held in place
by poles laid across them horizontally.
The poles were secured by boards
which were nailed both to the roof
and to the poles. Presumably this
unusual construction was designed t.*
save nails, which at that date were
handmade, and even scarcer than they
are today.
On Sunday mornings in warm
weather many worshippers walked
miles to this church, carrying their
shoes in their hands. At the spring
just below the church they paused
to wash their feet and put on their
shoes before entering the building.
Steele Creek
Church
Mr. Abernetliy says it is one of
the largest rural churches in the
entire Southeast: certainly the
largest rural Presbyterian
Church in North Carolina.
By EDGAR ABERNETIIY
STEELE CREEK is the largest
rural Presbyterian Church in
North Carolina. In all prob¬
ability it is the largest rural church
in the state of any denomination. I
shouldn't be greatly surprised if it’s
the largest rural church in the South¬
east. Certainly it's one of the largest.
The present membership is S7f>.
Steele Creek is located in the west¬
ern portion of Mecklenburg County.
It’s one of the seven original Pres¬
byterian churches established in Meck¬
lenburg in colonial days, the others
being Providence, Hopewell, Center,
Rocky River, Poplar Tent, and
Sugaw Creek. The exact date is un¬
known, but the best authorities place
it at 1760 or thereabouts.
In 1888 the church was burned.
and all the records destroyed. Con¬
sequently much of its early history
is obscure. Even the origin of the
name "Steele Creek" is unknown. It
is believed to have been named for a
stream of that name, but there's no
such stream in the neighborhood to¬
day.
The present church building, which
is the fifth to house the congregation,
was erected in 1SS9. It. is a handsome
structure, with an auditorium seat¬
ing around n thousand. Then there’s
a Sunday school annex, added in 1923,
and a community house built in
1926.
This imposing layout forms quite
a contrast with the first building.
This little church was built in the
roughest fashion of logs chinked with
Other Unusual Features
Some of the later buildings also
possessed some unusual features. Two
bad the pulpit on the north side.
In early days it was customary to
place the pulpit on the east, in order,
so it is said, to indicate that the gospel
was to advance from the east to the
west, because the wise men who came
peeking Jesus caine from the east. It
is not known why this custom was
departed from in these instances.
The third building included a gal¬
lery for colored members, which was
added several years after the main
building was completed. The ceiling
of the auditorium was so low that it
could not bo extended over the gal¬
lery, but terminated abruptly just in
front of it, leaving u narrow space for
the colored brethren to look through.
This gallery was reached by an
outside stairway. On a certain oc-
eusion a colored brother by the name
of Cuffy Parks sought shelter here
from a thunderstorm. As the wind
howled mournfully about the caves
In? remembered the cemetery near the
church. A brilliant flash of lightning
illuminated the gloom. In the weird
light Cuffy beheld a white figure
slowly moving towards him. Evident¬
ly lie had no scientific curiosity in
regard to psychic phenomena. He
may have touched the stairway on the
wav down, but he was not aware
of it.
The reason for his headlong flight,
as he later learned, was a sheep
which had also taken shelter from
the storm.
At one time Steele Creek boasted
