St. Philip’s Church – Charleston, South Carolina

Established in 1680, St. Philip’s Church is home to the oldest congregation in South Carolina. The current church, located at 146 Church St in Charleston‘s French Quarter neighborhood, was completed in 1838 and is the third to serve the congregation.

The first church was a modest, wooden building constructed in 1681 on the present-day site of St. Michael’s. With the congregation growing, a larger brick church was authorized to be constructed on the current site in 1710. It wasn’t completed until 1723 due to Indian wars and damage from hurricanes. This church would house the congregation for over a century, until it was destroyed by a fire in 1835. Work on the present church began later that same year.

After the fire, the congregation moved into its temporary home in the Tabernacle at Cumberland Street Methodist Episcopal Church. They remained there until 1838, when their new church was finished. The steeple (pictured above), designed by noted architect Edward Brickell White, wasn’t completed until 1850.

Several notable South Carolinians, including governors Charles Pinckney and Edward Rutledge, are buried in the St. Philip’s cemetery. In 1973 St. Philip’s was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.

For more information and service times, please visit the church’s website.

SCIWAY thanks John Birkenheuer of Charleston for sharing this photo he took in 2009.