The historic churches of
Charleston is a must see! This is the list. If
you want to take a walking tour of all the
wonderful old churches in the historic
district, just print this page, get your
Charleston map and stroll the streets of
Charleston!
Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist (1890-1907)
Broad & Legare Streets
Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul
(1815) 126 Coming Street
Circular Congregational Church
(1891-1892) 150 Meeting Street -
Circular Church remains a vibrant, diverse
community. Visitors are welcome both to explore
the grounds and to explore the faith in
worship, ministry, and life in community. From
its beginning 300 years ago to the present day,
the story of Circular Church has been attached
by muscle and sinew to the history of the city
around it. The beauty and cultural vigor of
antebellum Charleston were intensified in this
church. Likewise the calamities and dogged
endurance of this church put the trials of the
city into high relief.
Emanuel A.M.E. Church (1891) 110 Calhoun
Street
First Baptist Church (1822) 61 Church
Street - First Baptist Church, Charleston, the
earliest Baptist church in the South was
organized on September 25, 1682 in Kittery,
Maine, under the sponsorship of the First
Baptist Church of Boston. Late in 1696, the
pastor William Screven, and 28 members of the
Kittery congregation immigrated to Charleston,
South Carolina. Near this time, two groups of
settlers came to Charleston, one from southern
England and one from Scotland. The Baptists
among these groups were soon drawn into William
Screven's church. By 1708 he reported that the
membership numbered 98.
First (Scots) Presbyterian Church
(1814) 53 Meeting Street - Our
congregation was established in 1731 when
twelve Scottish families separated themselves
amicably from the Independent Meeting House
(now the Circular Congregational Church). This
separation allowed them to govern themselves
according to the forms and discipline of the
Church of Scotland as opposed to the
congregational system.
French Huguenot Church (1845) 136
Church Street - The French Protestant Church of
Charleston was founded in approximately 1681 by
Huguenot refugees from the Protestant
persecutions in France. About 450 Huguenots had
settled in South Carolina's Low Country by
1700. The first Huguenot Church was built on
its present site in 1687, but in 1796 was
destroyed in an attempt to stop the spread of
fire, which had burned a large surrounding
area. The replacement for the original building
was completed in 1800 and dismantled in 1844 to
make way for the present Gothic Revival
ediface, designed by Edward Brickell White and
dedicated in 1845 The church was damaged by
shellfire during the long bombardment of
downtown Charleston in the War Between the
States and was nearly demolished in the severe
earthquake of 1886. The present building dates
to 1845.
Grace Episcopal Church (1848) 98
Wentworth Street - When the English colony of
Carolina was founded at Charles Town in 1670,
the settlers were granted the right to worship
in any church, unlike their contemporaries who
settled in New England. The colonists who came
here came to prosper on the bounty of the land.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the Anglican
Church in South Carolina had evolved into a
strong Episcopal Diocese. By 1846, even though
there were four Episcopal churches in the city,
the growth of the population and a strong
religous fervor led to the founding of Grace
Church in the heart of the city. On February
16, 1846, Grace Church was admitted to the
Diocese of South Carolina.
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (1840) 90
Hasell Street - The history of Kahal Kadosh
Beth Elohim is a heritage in which all American
Jews can take pride. It is a story of faith,
devotion, and perseverance in the American
tradition of freedom of worship. Charleston was
established in 1670, and the earliest known
reference to a Jew in the English settlement is
a description dated 1695. Soon thereafter other
Jews followed, attracted by the civil and
religious liberty of South Carolina and the
ample economic opportunity of the colony. These
pioneers were sufficiently numerous by 1749 to
organize the present congregation Kahal Kadosh
Beth Elohim (Holy Congregational House of God)
and, fifteen years later, to establish the now
historic Coming Street cemetery, the oldest
surviving Jewish burial ground in the
South.
St. John's Lutheran Church (1817) 10
Archdale Street
St.
Mary's Catholic Church (1837-1899) 89
Hasell Street
St. Matthew's Lutheran Church (1872)
405 King Street - We are located at 405 King
Street between Calhoun and Vanderhorst streets,
across from Marion Square. The Sanctuary
building is open for public visitation Monday -
Friday from 8:30am - 4:30pm and on most
Saturdays from 8:30am - 1:30pm.
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
(1752-1761) 80 Meeting Street - St.
Michael’s Church is the oldest church
edifice in the City of Charleston, standing on
the site of the first Anglican Church built
south of Virginia. In the 1680’s a small
wooden church, the first in the new town of
Charles Town, was built on this spot for the
families of the Church of England, and named
St. Philip’s. By 1727, the town had grown
too large for the small church and a more
spacious one was built of brick on Church
Street, later destroyed by fire in 1835. By
1751, St. Philip’s had again proved too
small for the increasing population, and
another church as authorized by the General
Assembly of the Province, to be built on the
old site and to be known as St.
Michael’s. The cornerstone was laid in
1752 and in 1761 the church was opened for
services. Except for the addition of the
sacristy in 1883 on the southeast corner, the
structure of the building has been little
changed.
Unitarian Church in Charleston
(1780-1854) 8 Archdale Street -
Charleston, with its abundance of churches, is
rightfully called the "Holy City." Many of its
places of worship are achitecturally
noteworthy. The Unitarian Church is one of
these places. It is the second oldest church in
the city and is designated a National Historic
Landmark. It is also considered one of our
nation's finest examples of Perpendicular
Gothic Revival style.
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