Earlier this week, I was driving through the mountains and saw this sweet Methodist church perched atop a hill overlooking a small town. I don’t know about you, but I’m drawn to churches at this time of the year and especially to ones that are older and have been well used. I love the thought of candles being lit at some point in the past at the altar and hymns having been sung from places deep within the heart.

I passed this little Presbyterian church last week while taking a drive out by the lake. It was founded in 1850 at a nearby location. The congregation moved to this spot in 1870, which is very close to what once was the Cherokee Indian town named Tugaloo. The name is derived from the Cherokee Indian settlement named Dugiluyi and scholars believe the word may refer to the forks of a river. The nearby Tugaloo River is part of the head waters of the Savannah River.  Throughout the years, the congregation struggled. By the mid 1950’s the pastorate was abandoned. Sadly, the church dissolved its membership on October 1, 1968. Today, it sits on private land surrounded by a fence. However, someone still cares about it because it has been restored in recent years.