Trinity Episcopal Church (Columbia)

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Trinity Episcopal Church , now also known as Trinity Episcopal Cathedral , is the first Episcopal church and the oldest church building in existence in Columbia , South Carolina , United States . It is a neo-Gothic church modeled on York Minster in York , England by Edward Brickell White . The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1971 .

Trinity Church is on the east side of Sumter Street between Gervais and Senate Streets near the South Carolina State House .

Early history

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina founded the Society for the Advancement of Christianity in South Carolina in 1810. She sent Reverend Fowler to Columbia in 1812 to build a church here. This was established on August 8, 1812. Bishop Theodore Dehon held a service in the State House on May 13, 1813. The community was by the South Carolina General Assembly as Episcopal Church in Columbia incorporated .

The government gave the Presbyterian and Episcopal parishes four parcels. This was on the condition that half of the land value must be paid to the Baptist and Methodist congregations so that these churches could build their parish churches.

The foundation stone for the new church was laid on March 7, 1814, and Trinity Church was consecrated by Bishop Dehon on December 14 of that year. The wooden church building on the southeast corner of Sumter and Gervais Streets was cruciform in plan. General Hampton donated $ 2,000 and the church organ .

After the congregation was without a minister for four years, the diocese sent Peter J. Shand to be a lay minister. He was appointed a deacon on January 19, 1834 and appointed the sacristy to lead the church. He did this for the next 52 years. The congregation grew, and in 1838 the Sunday School for African-Americans began , in 1839 a new organ was installed, and in 1844 a school for destitute students opened.

architecture

Since the church was no longer sufficient for the growing congregation, Peter Shand laid the foundation stone for a new building on November 26, 1845. This neo-Gothic building was planned by Edward Brickell White, who was based on the medieval minster of the city of York in England. Although the construction plan provided for a crucifix-shaped floor plan, only the nave and the twin church tower were built . Each of the towers had eight pinnacles with heraldic lilies . The brick building was plastered. The towers and outer walls have detached buttresses. The nave has clapboards , this is the only such church in Columbia. The roof is supported by exposed wooden beams. Bishop Gadsden consecrated the church on February 14, 1857.

The baptismal font was donated by John S. Preston and designed by the sculptor Hiram Powers . It was later donated to the Church of the Nativity in Union and replaced with another Preston Family Foundation, also carved by Hiram Powers.

Around 1860, stained glass windows manufactured in Munich were installed. Under the supervision of Edward Brickell White, the transepts and an apse were added in 1861 and 1862, the early days of the Confederate States of America . A window made of stained glass in memory of pastor Peter Shand was installed in the chancel in 1890.

Later story

According to local lore, parishioners removed the episcopal symbols and replaced them with paper mache roof crosses before the Union Army invaded Columbia on February 17, 1865. They hoped that this would provide better protection for the Church because William T. Sherman was a Catholic. The rectory fell victim to the Columbia fire, and the church itself survived the fire. In general, few houses south of Gervais Street burned down. In any case, a photograph from 1862 shows a large cross on the top of the pediment at the front of the church.

In June 1865, the Commander of the Union Army in the Columbia Garrison from Reverend Shand, with a member of his staff attending the service, demanded a public prayer for the President according to the Book of Common Prayer . It did, but when Shand began to pray, the worshipers got up without waiting for the amen .

The diocese was divided in 1922. Trinity Church was added to the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina and on January 19, 1922, was designated the cathedral of the diocese.

Churchyard

Live oaks were planted in the churchyard at three different times in the history of the parish. The first oak was planted after the first church was built in 1814, the second in 1900, and the third in 1925 when the meetinghouse was completed. The churchyard is surrounded by a cast iron fence.

The churchyard is the burial place for a number of notable South Carolina citizens including Generals Wade Hampton I and Peter Horry of the Revolutionary War , veteran of the War of 1812 and plantation owner Wade Hampton II , politician Thomas Cooper , poet Henry Timrod , Senator William Preston and six South Carolina governors - Richard Irvine Manning , John Lawrence Manning , Wade Hampton III. , Hugh Smith Thompson , Richard Irvine Manning III, and James F. Byrnes ; and eight bishops, including Ellison Capers .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ National Register Information System
  2. ↑ a b c d Trinity Episcopal Church, Richland County (1100 Sumter St., Columbia) ( English ) In: National Register Properties in South Carolina . South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Trinity Episcopal Church ( English , pdf; 326 kB) In: National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form . National Park Service . February 24, 1971. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  4. ↑ Frederick Dalcho: An Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina ( English ). E. Thayer (Theological Book Store), Charleston, South Carolina 1820, pp. 394-395 (accessed March 5, 2011).
  5. ^ A b c d e Albert S. Thomas: A Historical Account of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina ( English ). RL Bryan Co., Columbia, South Carolina 1957, pp. 536-543, 618 (accessed March 5, 2011).
  6. ^ Helen John Hennig, Columbia Sesqui-Centennial Commission: Columbia: Capital City of South Carolina 1786-1936 ( English ). RL Bryan Company, Columbia, South Carolina 1936, ISBN 0722204353 (Retrieved March 5, 2011).
  7. ↑ a b c d Russell Maxey, Historic Columbia Foundation: South Carolina's Historic Columbia: Yesterday and Today in Photographs ( English ). RL Bryan Company, Columbia, South Carolina 1980, ISBN 0934870020 (Retrieved March 5, 2011).
  8. ↑ Federal Writer's Program of the Works Progress Administration : South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State ( English ). Oxford University Press, New York 1941, p. 224.
  9. ^ Marion Brunson Lucas: Sherman and the Burning of Columbia ( English ). University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina 2000, ISBN 1570033587 , pp. 96-97 (accessed March 5, 2011).
  10. ^ A b Walter B. Edgar, Woolley, Deborah K .: Columbia: Portrait of a City ( English ). Donning Company, Norfolk, Virginia, ISBN 0898654955 , p. 31 (Retrieved March 5, 2011).
  11. ^ Walter Edgar: South Carolina: A History ( English ). University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina 1998, ISBN 1-57003-255-6, (accessed March 5, 2011).
  12. ^ Walter Edgar, The Humanities Council SC : South Carolina Encyclopedia ( English ). University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina 2006, ISBN 1-57003-598-9 , p. 308, (accessed March 5, 2011).
  13. ^ A b The History of Trinity Cathedral ( English ) Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  14. ^ Trinity Episcopal Church (Columbia, South Carolina) ( English ) Find a Grave. Retrieved March 29, 2009.

Coordinates: 34 ° 0 ′ 3.7 ″  N , 81 ° 52 ′ 1 ″  W.