Wedding & Event Venue Near Marion, SC.

MARION, S.C. (WMBF) – A community is coming together to help a church in Marion rebuild after it was heavily damaged in a fire earlier this week.

Marion Fire Rescue crews were called just after 4 p.m. Tuesday to 520 Murray Street, which is the location of United Fellowship Church.

When they arrived at the nearly 70-year-old church, firefighters saw smoke pouring out of the roof.

It took over 40 firefighters from different agencies several hours to get the fire under control.

Members of the church said that everything from the sanctuary down to the dining and kitchen were destroyed in the fire.

“There is no pulpit, there is no choir stand, everything is totally destroyed,” Bishop Patrick Chambers said.

MORE INFORMATION | Help United Fellowship Church Rebuild Following Fire

Chambers said the building was filled with memories from weddings, worship and even funerals.

“It serves as the arms for our community here. So many people have come to this place and received help,” Chambers explained.

One elder in the church, Evelyn Foxworth Meares, remembered the church’s humble beginnings, when it started off in a tent.

“I was here before the church started. I cam while we were still under the tent,” Meares said. “It was so sad to see it all go up in smoke.

But despite the loss, Chambers said he’s grateful for the outpouring of community support to help rebuild.

“Pastors are coming together, people have committed themselves to help rebuild the walls,” Chambers said. “Men are working right now even as we speak. They are coming together, that the walls of this church might be rebuilt.

Because the fire was at a church, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to the scene and is investigating the cause and origin of the fire.

Meanwhile, Chambers said they’re determined to continue church services at the building.

The church is also reaching out to the community and asking for donations to help with the repairs.

A GoFundMe has been created if you would like to donate to the church.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

Clarendon contributor

SANTEE COOPER LAKES - Lake Marion is not only the largest lake in South Carolina covering more than 110,000 acres, but it's also known by anglers nationwide as a mecca for big bass, catfish and a variety of smaller fish. Lake Marion has received another designation. AZ Animals has listed the popular recreational lake as having the highest confirmed American Alligator population in the state.

Lake Moultrie, Lake Marion's smaller sister lake that covers more than 60,000 acres and comes in as the third-largest lake in South Carolina, was ranked by AZ Animals as No. 2 in the state for the number of alligators residing within its banks.

According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, there are more than 100,000 alligators calling the state's lakes and waterways home with Lake Marion home to an estimated 100 of those alligators.

Rounding out the top four state areas with lakes in terms of the number of alligators living there are Hilton Head Island at No. 3, and Charleston at No. 4.

Alligators in the state's lakes are most often found thriving in the shallows and swampy areas of the lakes as well as in the lakes' coves and creeks. Between 2016 and 2018, a 700-pound gator and an almost 1,000-pound gator were caught, ranging from 12 to 15 feet, according to AZ Animals. In 2022, Stephen Glenn, Anders Land and Alex Brammer wrangled a 500-pound, 12-foot alligator in the Taw Caw area of Lake Marion, according to The Item archives.

Lake Marion, a freshwater lake, provides a habitat that is comfortable for gators with a climate that never gets cold enough to freeze the lake. It is connected to Sparkleberry Swamp, a popular fishing spot, and home to a significant number of the lake's alligator population.

Lake Marion's shores span five counties, including Clarendon, Sumter, Orangeburg, Calhoun and Berkeley, with sightings of alligators in each of the counties.

Lake Marion is now in the middle of the breeding season for alligators. It's common for single female gators to lay a clutch of 30 to 50 eggs, and this means that the population of alligators within Lake Marion and other state lakes will continue to grow. Lake Marion's abundance of fish also provides the lake's gators with plenty of food to keep them well-fed all year.

In the wild, American Alligators can live between 30 and 50 years with adult male gators reaching lengths of 15 feet.

Travel Safe - Abroad lists three safety tips for swimming in areas where alligators have been sighted:

- Don't swim between dusk and dawn because alligators are more active at night, and splashing can mimic prey;

- Take friends when you swim. With a lot of activity in the water, gators are more likely to keep their distance. Having friends along also ensures that if there is an incident, someone is available to call for help.

- Don't feed the alligators. It is illegal in South Carolina to feed alligators. Feeding alligators can teach the reptiles that it is safe to approach humans for food. Alligators that frequently are fed by humans may get aggressive when the humans don't feed them.

It's also important to notify SCDNR when alligators are seen in areas where they shouldn't be or if you see people feeding them. To report issues with alligators, call SCDNR at 1-800-922-5431.

One area of Lake Marion where you can see alligators from the comfort of your vehicle is the Santee National Wildlife Refuge's Cuddo Unit off Log Jam Road near the John C. Land III Fishing Facility. The Cuddo Unit's 7.5-mile Wildlife Drive features several stops along the route to view an abundance of South Carolina's wildlife, including Cuddo's popular Alligator Alley. Cuddo's visitors can frequently spot gators sunning or swimming. Visitors are asked to never feed the wild animals, including gators.

Applications for S.C. Alligator Lottery now being accepted

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' Alligator Lottery is now underway and lasts until 5 p.m. July 15.

A $10 nonrefundable application fee is required to apply. A randomized computer drawing based on a preference point system will determine the selection of hunters.

The 2023 public alligator season will begin at noon Sept. 9 and end at noon Oct. 14. If your entry is chosen, the tag fees are $100. Additional fees apply to nonresident hunters. Applicants will be notified by email of their selection status after the drawing has been completed. Applicants can also check their status online any time after the drawing. By law, the fees that are collected through the lottery are used to support the Alligator Management Program's research and management activities and for conservation of the American Alligator in South Carolina.

To apply for the alligator hunts, for more information on the lottery and for information on any changes and updates to the program, check the SCDNR website at https://bit.ly/3oKGltm.

For questions or assistance with applying, contact Emily Kearse at (803) 734-3887 or kearsee@dnr.sc.gov or contact Trista Bishop at (803) 734-3892 or bishopt@dnr.sc.gov.

MARION, S.C. (WBTW) — Members of a Pee Dee church assessed damage on Wednesday after their church caught fire on Tuesday night.

The fire happened at the United Fellowship Center on Murray Street in Marion. The church is 73 years old, and some people said they could still smell it burning outside.

Marion Fire Rescue said the fire was under control at about 8 p.m., and crews stayed on scene until about 9:15 p.m.

The church’s bishop, Keith Chambers, said it was built in the 1950s by his parents.

“When I walked in, it was just too much,” Chambers said. “There was just smoke coming from everywhere. The firefighters got there as soon as they could, but by the time they got there and got set up and everything, it had just gotten out of hand.”

Chambers said one thing did survive the fire, however.

“The firemen came out and they said everything was charred and burnt on the inside,” he said. “They came out with a bible, and the bible just had a partially burnt part on the cover. Everything else was well-intact.”

Chambers said he was doing renovations on the church the day of the fire.

“Everybody was praying, you know. A lot of the members were crying,” he said. “They thought I was inside working for the last week or so, doing things on the inside.”

Chambers was not inside.

Instead, he said he got a phone call that his wife and child were in a car crash. He said he stopped, turned everything off in the church and rushed to the hospital.

30 minutes later, Chambers said he got another call that the church was on fire.

He said although the fire destroyed everything, including the newly renovated kitchen, with the help of the community — he is hopeful.

“It doesn’t matter if we have to start back over in a tint again,” Chambers said. “This church started in a tent. Sitting right over here in the grounds, that’s where the tent was. If we have to go from there to wherever God — I believe in God.”

Chambers said they are working with the city inspector to see what can be done with the damage.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

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Aundrea Gibbons joined the News13 team in May 2023 after graduating from Clemson University with bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and communication. Aundrea is a Marion native and graduated as salutatorian in 2019. Follow Aundrea on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - From giving some much-needed attention to the Marion County Animal Shelter to working on team-building, county leaders are on a mission to bring progress to Marion County.

With efforts to see Marion County the best it can be Interim County Manager Chavis Watford said she’s ready to check things off the list.

“We’re just trying to make Marion County Better,” she said.

Watford explained how that starts with ongoing and upcoming projects across Marion County.

One of the first items on her list required the county to temporarily close the Marion County Animal Shelter over the summer to address ongoing issues.

“We’re trying to get to a point where we can reopen and have a center in a well-managed facility with our employees and the safety of the animals,” said Watford. “So we’ve torn down some of the older buildings that was causing problems for our animals.”

Now crews are working to make the current shelter a better place for staff and animals while the county finalizes the purchase of a new facility for all of the shelter’s four-legged friends. Watford said that work in progress doesn’t just stop there.

“We see the other counties and how they’re growing and we want people to have the opportunity to choose Marion as a place to live,” she said. “Not only live but also work as new ideas have sparked between county departments to help them work and collaborate together.”

Right now they are engaging in team building with an office Halloween decorating contest.

“It broke the ice for all of us to come together and laugh and talk and keep peeping at other ‘s offices and check out the ideas,” said Recycling Coordinator for Marion County’s Environmental Services Erica Woodberry. “It really broke the ice to become more of a family now.”

Watford said organizations within the community like Sopakco, Creative Consultants, HTC, Marion County Progress, and DMA all donated to help the project.

It’s helped become another step in Marion County’s Progression.

“Nothing happens overnight,” said Watford. “We are seeing the progress of our efforts in making Marion County one of the best counties in South Carolina. “I want to involve the community more involve the employees more and really make Marion County the best place to live and work.”

Administration teams from the city of Marion and Mullins will judge the Halloween decorating contest for first, second, and third place on Tuesday, Oct, 31.

Copyright 2023 WMBF. All rights reserved.

MARION — Mike Jackson is a lifelong son of Marion, a small, rural town hardly an hour from South Carolina’s coast.

He and his aunt opened Main Street Cleaners in 1983 in the heart of downtown.

He remembers the foot traffic.

Folks walked up and down Main Street, popped by businesses and window shopped. Barbershops, clothing stores, banks — everything they needed was right there, he said.

Then, the culture shifted.

Businesses closed, industries shrunk and money slowed. Downtown Marion became little more than a ghost town over the years.

The Historic Marion Revitalization Association has been working to bring a rhythm back to downtown’s pulse. Grants, events and business support have been the backbone of downtown’s turnaround.

“We struggled to maintain,” Jackson said. “Now, it’s done better than maintain. It’s improved.”

The road to improvement

The Historic Marion Revitalization Association was formed in 1993. It originally functioned as more of an event planning organization, Executive Director Taylor Newell said.

Jackson was involved from the beginning.

Jackson was in his 40s when the nonprofit got off the ground. He and other older residents met on Tuesday mornings to see what they could do to keep their downtown alive.

They put on a number of minor events — photos with Santa and horse-drawn carriage rides at Christmas, essay contests for local elementary school kids, a photo book sale with historic Marion photography.

Something — anything, really — to keep the community’s engine running.

“In the 1990s, I don’t think we were focused as much on growth as we were on surviving,” Jackson said.

That period of time in Marion was hard, Jackson said. He remembers a slowdown in the town’s textile and tobacco industries — once heavy hitters in the area.

Marion relied on agriculture, namely tobacco, for decades after its stint as a Revolutionary War battleground. The town, originally Gilesborough, was renamed in 1847 after General Francis Marion, the area’s notorious guerilla-fighting Revolutionary hero, known as the swamp Fox.

Money stopped coming in like it used to when planting and industry slowed down.

Downtown’s heartbeat left with it. Businesses were gone. People couldn’t go downtown for what they needed.

Marion residents started traveling for what they needed. They ran to Horry County’s beaches for entertainment and fun. They drove to Florence when they needed a new outfit or haircut.

They lived in Marion but didn’t function there.

Newell grew up in Marion, too. She moved back after starting a family and spending a few years in other South Carolina locales.

“When I grew up here, it was more we drove downtown to get to church,” she said. “It was just the pass through.”

She got involved with the nonprofit when she moved back to Marion. She wants her town — her home — to be somewhere her kids can return to one day like she did. Somewhere they can be proud of.

The Historic Marion Revitalization Association started taking a different approach around five years ago. What was once an event planning organization is now a backbone for local businesses.

The nonprofit offers grants to help bring businesses back downtown. It applies for grants that are pooled to award to downtown business owners.

Facade grants are one of their biggest pulls.

Those funds help business owners give the outside of their buildings a facelift. It can help cover anything from paint, outdoor light fixtures or a new roof.

Facades are the tip of the iceberg.

Tactical urbanism grants give business owners the ability to add flare outside of their spaces. Outdoor games, furniture, sidewalk signs and landscaping are all covered under the grant.

Sign grants help businesses evade Newell’s dreaded adversary: the “strip mall sign.”

Applicants can get up to a 75 percent match of a project’s cost from the nonprofit because of the grants. That could be the cost of paint for an entire building, installation of new windows and signs. The match is one of the nonprofit’s biggest assets.

“We’re able to really help people get things going, get things off the ground, and, and show that we have skin in the game, too,” Newell said.

The formula has been working. A combination of a larger-than-average match with the nonprofit’s willingness to go beyond its original purpose caused a shift downtown.

Downtown Marion saw 13 businesses open in a one-year period around 2021. Finally, a boom after nearly three decades of silence. Some of the businesses didn’t stay open for long, Newell said, but that can happen to anyone.

There are boutiques, ice cream shops, a coffee shop and antique stores. Even a pizza place is on the horizon.

Today, there’s only one available storefront in Marion, Newell said. Locals aren’t traveling to the coast or Florence as much. Visitors from neighboring towns, near and far, are traveling to see Marion’s facelift.

“It’s heartwarming,” Jackson said. “It really has restored a sense of pride.”

Brittany Fincannon’s business, Swoon Boutique, opened downtown nearly two years ago. She’s also from Marion — born and raised.

She grew up in the same Marion that Newell did. The one that was quiet and usually empty.

She and her friends would drive to Myrtle Beach or Florence when they were in high school just to have something to do.

Fincannon returned to Marion after attending college in Charleston. She never imagined that she’d own a business in the same downtown that she and her friends drove away from every weekend.

She also couldn’t imagine it would be in the same building where her aunt and uncle had a clothing store 30 years ago.

“What’s been the most exciting part is that all these people notice the change and they want to be a part of it,” she said.

The downtown business owners have their own little community now, she said. They have a group text full of advice, alerts and support for one another. There are no feelings of competition or anxiety.

That only happens in a small town, she said.

Fincannon, a member of the Historic Marion Revitalization Association’s board of directors, thinks that the organization has been instrumental in making Marion a place that young people want to be again.

The nonprofit still plans and hosts events beyond business support.

The events are much bigger than they were three decades ago. A summer concert series, sponsored by the Marion Chamber of Commerce and the association, draws hundreds of locals and visitors downtown.

A farmer’s market packs downtown on the first and third Saturdays for nine months out of the year. Paint Your Part, a yearly art competition, keeps local art hanging in an alleyway near Swoon Boutique.

The nonprofit is helping build businesses, but the events help make sure people know downtown is back and here to stay, Newell said. They’re trying to build a community people are proud of.

Years of silence and stillness sparked the Historic Marion Revitalization Association’s push for a better downtown. Their grants, events and business support have made a world of difference to the once sleepy town.

Today, there’s only one ghost left in the former ghost town. It’s nestled away in the last available storefront on Main Street.

It’s surrounded by a new energy — new life — that many in Marion thought they’d never have again.