National Historic Landmark

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

St. Stephens, Berkeley County, South Carolina
Listed
April 14, 1970
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
70000570

About this property

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 196 Brick Church Circle in St. Stephen, South Carolina. Built in the 1760s, it is one of a handful of surviving 18th-century brick parish churches in the state, with a number of architectural features not found on any other of the period. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970. St. Stephen's Church is located on the east side of St. Stephen, on the south side of Church Road (South Carolina Highway 45). It is set on a parcel of about 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) that includes the churchyard and cemetery, and is surrounded on three sides by Brick Church Circle. The church is a single-story brick structure, 46 feet (14 m) long and 36 feet (11 m) wide. It is topped by a gambrel roof with curvilinear roof sections and Jacobean gable ends. There are three entrances, two on the long sides and one on the short western side. The doors and windows are set in round-arch openings with fanlight windows above, and the bays on each side are articulated by Doric brick pilasters. The interior is divided roughly into four sections by two crossing aisles, with the pulpit located at the eastern end, in front of a small Palladian window. The ceiling is of ornamented metal. The building's walls are stabilized by iron rods (placed after an 1886 earthquake), that run down and across the interior of the structure. it is built in Georgian style. The St. Stephen's parish was set off from the parish of St. James, Santee in 1754. This church was built between 1767 and 1769, replacing an earlier wood frame structure. It is one of South Carolina's well-preserved small brick country parish churches, its unique features including the gambrel roof and pilastered exterior, and the interior ceiling. It was built and designed by Francis Villepontoux and A. Howard who provided the bricks. William Axson was the master mason. There were no regular services in the church between 1808 and 1932, but the building was not neglected. Needed repairs were done twice during the 19th century. St. Stephen's is still an active church in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. The Rev. Jeffrey Richardson is the current rector. National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkeley County, South Carolina List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Media related to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Berkeley County, South Carolina) at Wikimedia Commons Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. SC-74, "St. Stephen's Church (Episcopal), Saint Stephen, Berkeley County, SC", 22 photos, 3 data pages, 2 photo caption pages St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Berkeley County (S.C. Hwy. 45, St. Stephens), at South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Location

St. Stephens, Berkeley County, South Carolina
33.40531, -79.91655

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Pineville Historic District
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6.5 mi
Santee Canal
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9.6 mi
New Market
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10.1 mi
Clarkson Farm Complex
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10.8 mi
McCollum-Murray House
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13.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. Stephen's Episcopal Church listed on the National Register?

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1970.

What type of historic resource is St. Stephen's Episcopal Church?

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is St. Stephen's Episcopal Church a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. St. Stephen's Episcopal Church has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for St. Stephen's Episcopal Church?

The period of significance for St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is recorded as the industrial era.

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