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State fire marshal says arson likely cause of Saturday morning blaze in northern McIntosh County

DARIEN | Four days after a suspected arson destroyed the Smallest Church in America in northern McIntosh County, donations of building materials and cash are pouring in to rebuild the 190-square-foot structure, officials said.

The fire was reported just before 1 a.m. and firefighters found it burning throughout when they arrived, McIntosh County Fire Chief Mark Deverger said.

The fire was put out quickly, but because the structure is so small it was a total loss, he said.

Justin Lamb, an investigator with the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office, said a state fire marshal concluded that the fire was not started by an electrical short and was most likely arson.

The church is kept up by donations that visitors dropped through a slot in a safe and, Sam Clark, a contractor and firefighter, pointed out a spot where it appeared someone had tried to use a torch to cut into the safe.

The fire marshal had reached the same conclusion, Lamb said.

"From what he could tell, someone had tried to force it open,'' and the caretaker said the damage had not been there earlier, Lamb said.

Frank Williams and Clark were at the church early Tuesday taking measurements to calculate what would be needed to rebuild the little non-denominational tourist attraction on U.S. 17 just south of the Interstate 95 interchange at Southport.

"It's going to be rebuilt soon,'' Williams said. "Money's coming. Lumber's coming. It'll be done by Christmas."

A stack of donated 2-by-4's lay on the edge of the property, and Clark said demolition wouldn't be a problem. The fire was so hot it cracked the concrete block walls, he said, pulling a block down with one hand.

The small pews and pulpit burned, but the safe was still intact mounted on a wall.

The church is 19 feet deep long and 9 feet, 6 inches wide and was built in 1949 by grocer Agnes Harper, who stipulated it be deeded to Jesus Christ.

The sign says visitors are welcome and most of those who stop at the church are visitors.

County State Court Judge Jean Bolin stopped by Tuesday morning and said it had no services but that "thousand of people stop by here."

Pete and Elva Mills, who own a vacation house at nearby Shellman Bluff, came to see the damage on their way home to Millen.

"I've been coming down here since before I knew it,'' Pete Mills said.

Elva Mills said she brought their 6-year-old triplet grandsons, Baxter, Taylor and Mills Cates, to the church the day before Thanksgiving and took pictures of them inside and out.

"Everybody I brought down here I had to stop and show them this precious church,'' she said.

The has been the site of some marriage proposals and many weddings.

Lamb said there was a wedding there about 6 p.m. Friday.

Investigators don't believe those in the wedding party were local, but they're trying to track them down to speak with them, Lamb said.

Terry Dickson: (912) 264-0405

Tropical Storm Gabrielle continues to churn across the central Atlantic Ocean.

As of 5 p.m. AST, Tropical Storm Gabrielle was located near 22.4N and 56.6W, or about 510 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and 850 miles southeast of Bermuda. Gabrielle is packing top sustained winds of 50 mph and is moving west-northwest at 12 mph. It has a minimum central pressure of 1004 mb, or 29.65 inches of mercury.

Tropical Storm Gabrielle is currently located in the west-central Atlantic and is expected to track to the west-northwest through the end of the weekend. On this current path, the storm should remain in the open waters of the Atlantic into the weekend. Gabrielle then looks to make a turn to the north and then north-northeast by later in the weekend, possibly getting close to Bermuda later Sunday night or early Monday. Anyone with interests in Bermuda should pay close attention to the exact track by later this weekend and early next week.

Gabrielle is still moving through an environment not conducive for further strengthening. However, conditions are expected to improve over the weekend, and Gabrielle is expected to become a hurricane on Sunday.

While Gabrielle will remain in the open waters of the Atlantic over the next few days, rough surf will still be expected across the Leeward Islands over the next several days.

WeatherBug partnered with meteorologists from AEM have predicted an above-average 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The team has predicted 14 to 20 named storms, six to ten of those becoming hurricanes and three to five of those becoming major hurricanes with sustained winds of at least 111 mph. Between 1991 and 2020, the Atlantic Hurricane Basin produced an average of 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes per year.

With the tropical season heating up, it’s time to prepare for the season. Start organizing portable phone chargers, a radio, batteries, non-perishable food, water and blankets into an evacuation kit now. While fair weather is in your area, take the opportunity to scout out multiple evacuation routes from your area in case your preferred route is traffic-jammed or blocked.

Check with WeatherBug throughout the season for the latest on the tropics.