The St. John Baptist Church in Dixiana has been born again.

Construction began over the weekend on the church, one of the oldest in Lexington County.

St. John Church was one of several to be burned in 1995 in the wave of burnings that torched several black churches in the South.

Over the years the church has been vandalized and burned several times. A group of area citizens met Friday to set the wheels in motion to rebuild the church at its historic location on the old State Road in Dixiana.

Al and Linda Hoelscher of Swinton, Texas are going to be the builders, and volunteers from throughout the county are going to be helping. Aimee Murray, who is spearheading the project, said they hope to be finished within a month.

The church itself had its beginnings in a fire. The church in the area was burned by the British Army in 1781, and slaves who attended that church found themselves with no place to worship.

They built a brush arbor made out of tree limbs and met there until 1857.

In 1857 the original St. John church building was built.

In the Civil War the building was part of the underground that smuggled slaves north. Murray said the people in the church would sing hymns to let people know if it was safe to come to the underground or not.

There is no road that goes by the church now, just a dirt road extension near where the Old State Road ends. But the church itself was on the historical Old State Road and the Cherokee Trading Trail that went from Tennessee to Savannah, Ga.

Due to its remote location it was the target of much vandalism.

Murray said over the years more than 200 people have been arrested for vandalism at the church.

She said at times it looked like a war zone. Graves were desecrated, Bibles ripped apart, the piano chopped up and the sacrament table destroyed.

Murray formed a committee in the late 80’s to save the church and she said it was really painful when it was burned on August 16, 1995.

“We regrouped though. It has been a struggle,’’ she said.

Murray said volunteers are still needed to help with the building project.

Some Dutch Fork High School students, led by Murray’s grandson Scott Wade came Friday. Wade brought three of his teammates off the football team.

“It gives me a good feeling to help with something like this. We’ll come back as much as we can,’’ he said.

His friends, Brad Sharpe, Chris Conn and P.J. Jeffcoat, also said they enjoyed being part of a project to rebuild a church.

Willie Simmons, 60, who is chairman of the board of deacons of the church, said he was happy to see the building start.

“We are happy back here in the woods. We don’t bother anyone, so may the Lord bless us here,’’ he said.

The church now meets at Simmons’ home on Princeton Road in West Columbia. Simmons has been involved in the church since he was a small child.

Simmons’ grandfather Augustus Dinkins was also a chairman of the board of deacons several years ago.

Simmons said it is special to be a part of a church that has such a historically significant background.

“It means a lot to us to get it started again, to get another chance. It is not something you can walk away from,’’ he said.

State Senator Joe Wilson, who has been on the committee to save the church since the 80’s gave Murray a plaque and credited her with never stopping her efforts.

Lexington County Sheriff Department public affairs director Larry Shea said his department would continue to give the area a good bit of attention.

“The church will rise again out of the ashes. The fire is overcome by faith and the spirit of the congregation,’’ he said.

Murray said she is delighted that the project is finally underway, and she hopes a “strong and high fence’’ can be put up around the church once it is completed.

For information about volunteering in this effort, contact Murray at 791-9222.

Rev. Roosevelt Robinson laughs with excitement as he thinks about the future of St. Johns Baptist Church in Dixiana. Robinson recently became the pastor of the small church South of Lexington that has as rich of a history as any church in the area.

It has been in the national spotlight since volunteers led by Ammie Murray rebuilt the church. It was destroyed by fire in 1995 after suffering years of vandalism and other hate crimes. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the past 150 years.

Though it has been through tumultuous times, Robinson wants the small church to be a place of love.

“I want this church to be a beacon to the whole state of South Carolina, as a way for people to see how Christians are supposed to live,” he said as he walked around the church on a recent Wednesday waiting for the evening service to begin.

The church has been historically black, but there are a few white members now, and Robinson’s goal is to have a totally integrated church.

“All God wants us to do is to love each other. We need to all love each other regardless of our differences, and I see that happening here,” he said.

The rebuilding process was completed early this year. There are still a few things that need to be done, but they are relatively minor.

For several months the church has been in a transition state. For years the church met at the home of deacon Willie Simmons, but since the church has now been rebuilt, they have named Robinson their pastor. While the church was being rebuilt, they held regular services on the grounds.

The church is still celebrating its rebirth, but once the celebrations die down and life returns to normal, Robinson believes St. Johns can have a good impact on its community.

“We have 35 or so active members now, but it is going to be full,” he said.

Last week the church got pews which were donated by other church in the Columbia area.

“By word of mouth people found out we didn’t have pews, so they gave them to us. They are going to look nice once we get them fixed up,” he said.

Robinson, 61, has been in the ministry for 25 years, but he said he believes this will be his last stop.

“God has told me this will be my last ministry position,” he said.

The church has a rich history, dating to before the Civil War. The church itself was a stopping point for the underground railroad that moved slaves northward to freedom.

Robinson said many people who have ancestors buried in the church graveyard come to the church to visit now, and he hopes some of them will stay with the church.

He is also grateful to all those people who helped rebuild the church. Many volunteers helped over several months to work on the building. He credited Murray with making the new church a reality.

“If it was not for her we would have no church. It is coming along just beautifully,” Robinson said.

Robinson also wants to have an impact on his community. He is thinking of having a sunrise Easter service on the grounds, and he may have the first baptismal service the church has had in some time on Easter morning.

Also this summer he hopes to start an evangelism program in the community. He also wants to start programs to work with children to help them in school and in other areas.

“If we can get children to come and have fun, we can teach them along the way,” he said.

He hopes the church will reach out to the community to help people, and to invite them into the church.

He hopes as this happens the church will soon be full of people. Two Sunday’s ago he saw that happen as a lot of people came when he was officially named the pastor.

“I can just feel it in my bones that this will happen, just like that Sunday. It was packed so full of people. I was so happy I couldn’t hardly talk,” he said.

He said the church is getting a few more people every Sunday. Some come out of curiosity, and some come seeking their roots. Robinson said he hopes more white people will come to visit and consider becoming part of the church.

For years the church has been a target of racial hatred, but Robinson hopes to now make the world a target for the church. He said the church has had no problems with vandalism since it has been rebuilt.

“The storms are over with. We are just way out here by ourselves. We just thank God for it,” he said.