St. Philip's Moravian Church
About this property
St. Philips Moravian Church is the oldest surviving African American church building in North Carolina. The Moravian church was built in 1861 on the east side of South Church Street, near Race Street, in Old Salem, North Carolina. St. Philips was enlarged in 1890 and remained in continuous use until 1952. In 2004 it was restored by Old Salem Museums & Gardens for use as an interpreted building. Currently only worship services are held at the church weekly. Members of a local black congregation, newly formed in 1822, built a log church south of the 1773 'Strangers Graveyard', which had been designated as an African American cemetery in 1816. Between 1827 and 1831, a Sunday school was taught by white Single Sisters, until a state law forbade teaching literacy to slaves. Moravian leaders built a larger brick church to the east of the graveyard in 1861. On May 21, 1865, Rev. Seth G. Clark, 10th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry read General Orders 32, announcing freedom from the St. Philips pulpit. In 1890, an extension consisting of a central hall with a classroom on each side of the lower level and a large room above (which opened onto the sanctuary and could be closed off and used as a classroom) was added to the front of the building. The brick church was referred to as the Moravian "Negro congregation" until December 1913, when at a lovefeast service it was given the name St. Philips by Bishop Edward Rondthaler. The church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The adjacent 1823 log church was reconstructed on its original site in 1999. God's Fields: Landscape, Religion, and Race in Moravian Wachovia. Leland Ferguson. University Press of Florida: Gainesville, FL, 2011. Media related to St. Philips Moravian Church at Wikimedia Commons Information on this church from the Moravian Archives
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about St. Philip's Moravian Church
This page lists St. Philip's Moravian Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was St. Philip's Moravian Church listed on the National Register?
St. Philip's Moravian Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 2, 1991.
What type of historic resource is St. Philip's Moravian Church?
St. Philip's Moravian Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for St. Philip's Moravian Church?
The period of significance for St. Philip's Moravian Church is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near St. Philip's Moravian Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near St. Philip's Moravian Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Forsyth County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Forsyth County.
Explore ForsythCounty ›More historic places in North Carolina
Browse all historic places in North Carolina.
View North Carolinahistoric sites ›North Carolina history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
North Carolinahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near St. Philip's Moravian Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.