PICKENS — A large crowd gathered at the Hagood Mill Historic Site on Tuesday afternoon for the long-awaited groundbreaking for the Eighteenth Century Burdine Lodge.

Led by Bishop Jonathan Holston, Resident Bishop of the South Carolina United Methodist Conference, and Dr. Roger Gramling, Chairman of the United Methodist Foundation and Secretary-Treasurer of the State Methodist Historical Society, Methodist leaders from across the state and local members participated in the event, said Billy Crawford, director of the Hagood Mill Historic Site.

“The Burdine Lodge is a documented location where Bishop Francis Asbury stayed as he established Methodism in the South Carolina Upcountry in the late 1700s and early 1800s,” he said. “It had become the home of Samuel Burdine in 1796.”

Senator Rex Rice and members of the Pickens County Delegation, County Councilman Wes Hendricks, County Administrator Gerald Wilson, Mayor David Owens, City Councilman Patrick Lark and a sizable contingent of members of the Pickens County Historical Society were present at the wooded site selected for the re-building.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks, Crawford said.

Historical Society President Ken Nabors, who supervised the careful deconstruction of the structure several years ago, said “We are restoring an important part of our local history to Pickens County that will be here for generations to come.”

Methodist Lay Speaker and Pickens County Historical Society member Chuck Blowers will lead the construction team, Crawford stated.

A grand opening event will be held when the log house is completed.

A large crowd gathered at the Hagood Mill Historic Site on Tuesday afternoon for the long-awaited groundbreaking for the Eighteenth Century Burdine Lodge.
https://www.theeasleyprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_burdine1.jpgA large crowd gathered at the Hagood Mill Historic Site on Tuesday afternoon for the long-awaited groundbreaking for the Eighteenth Century Burdine Lodge. Courtesy photo

Ground is broken on Burdine Lodge at Hagood Mill.
https://www.theeasleyprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_burdine2.jpgGround is broken on Burdine Lodge at Hagood Mill. Courtesy photo

A grand opening event will be held when the log house is completed.
https://www.theeasleyprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_burdine3.jpgA grand opening event will be held when the log house is completed. Courtesy photo

Staff report