Oldest European-American religious congregation in South Carolina
General Information
Sunday Worship: 8:15am and 10:30am
Visitors are welcome during scheduled open hours and worship services
How to Get There
From Charleston (0 mi): Travel through Charleston's Historic District to Church Street between Queen Street and Cumberland Street, and arrive at St. Philip's Church at 142 Church Street.
Overview
St. Philip's Church, established in 1681, is the oldest European-American congregation in South Carolina. The current stuccoed brick building dates to 1836, with an imposing Wren-Gibbs-style tower and three Tuscan porticoes; its steeple was completed in 1850. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973.
History
The congregation's earlier churches stood elsewhere on the peninsula before fire destroyed the previous Church Street building in 1835; construction on the current church began that same year. For decades the steeple doubled as a navigational aid, serving as the rear tower of a pair of range lights — paired with a light on Fort Sumter — that guided ships into Charleston Harbor from 1893 to 1915, and again briefly in 1921.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "St. Philip's Church (Charleston, South Carolina)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
