Circular Congregational Church – Charleston County, South Carolina

This picture of the cemetery at the Circular Congregational Church in downtown Charleston was taken by Diane Yale-Peabody of Amherst, Ohio.

Circular Church was founded by the early settlers in 1681 as the first non-Anglican Church in Charleston. Because they were not part of the Church of England they were looked down upon and considered “dissenters.” Not to be encouraged, they were not allowed to call themselves a church — only a “Meeting” and that’s how the main avenue through downtown Charleston came to be known as Meeting Street – because it was the location of the city’s Meeting House. The current building is the church’s third; built in 1890.

Diane writes: “This back view of the church was taken from the cemetery in July 2005. Downtown historic Charleston can almost be traversed from one cemetery to another. This one is the oldest in the city, with one tombstone dating to 1690.

The cemeteries are quiet places of beauty, not only for their intricate and curiously carved stones but also for the overgrown paths and crepe myrtle trees. The cemeteries can also spark and interest in the city’s history. For example, those rows of children’s graves with dates spread over a few months are a poignant remembrance of the yellow fever epidemics that swept the South.”

Learn more about the history of the Circular Congregational Church.

Visit this still active, historical church’s website.