St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

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Description 

St. Mary’s Church is considered the first established Roman Catholic Church in the Carolinas and Georgia. In 1789 trustees for the church purchased the property which it still occupies. In 1791 it was incorporated by the General Assembly of South Carolina as the Roman Catholic Church of Charleston. According to church records, the structure being used for services was soon replaced by a brick structure. This building was destroyed in 1838 in the Charleston fire of that year. Construction of the third and present structure began almost immediately, and the church was opened for worship June 9, 1839. The rectangular structure features four Doric columns that support a massive entablature which is capped with a stepped parapet. The parapet wall was probably added during the renovation program of 1895. A large central portal is flanked by a smaller door on each side. A semicircular arched window is located directly above the central door, with smaller circular windows above the side doors. Both circular and semicircular windows are embellished with keystones. The church graveyard surrounds the church on each side and to the rear. Listed in the National Register November 7, 1976. - SCDAH

Tags 

19th Century (37,674) Built 1839 (182) Built during 1830s (2,705) Charleston County, South Carolina (210) Charleston, South Carolina (87) Church (5,677)

Early Republic (295) Have Street View (44,498) Place of worship (6,043) Private owner (54,398) South Carolina (2,141) Stucco (7,816)

Update Log 

• August 19, 2014: Photo imported by Michael Miller
• July 28, 2014: Updated by Michael Miller: Added "Description" & "Street View"
• July 28, 2014: New Street View added by Michael Miller

Sources 

• Michael Miller - michael_a_miller [at] yahoo [dot] com
• SCDAH
• National Register database - Reference number 76001697

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