Trinity Episcopal Church – Abbeville, S.C. & Abbeville’s Aristocracy in the 1790s

Images courtesy of the Blythe Collection – ca. 1980

City Directories and History:  Trinity Episcopal Church is an example of Gothic Revival architecture in South Carolina that remains as originally constructed and contains handmade interior woodwork. Thomas Parker, Thomas Jackson and

Image courtesy of photographer, Bill Segars – 2005

Thomas Walter Thomas organized the church in 1842. Bishop Thomas F. Davis consecrated the building in 1860, built after plans by George E. Walker, architect, of Columbia, and by Blease and Baxter, contractors, of Newberry (11.16.1842). The solid walls are more than two feet thick, and are constructed of brick from an Abbeville brickyard. They are coated with cement that, over the years, has acquired a soft rose patina from the underlying native clay. The church’s spire is 130 feet tall and

Thomas T. Waterman image of the church in 1940 – Images(s) and information from: The Library of Congress – HABS Photo Collection

continues to dominate the local skyline. The organ, made by John Baker of Charleston, was installed soon after the church was built and is one of two such known organs in South Carolina. A magnificent stained glass altar window from England ran the Union blockades in the 1860s and was then carted to the upcountry. The churchyard and cemetery contain boxwood gardens, towering old magnolia trees and graves of church leaders. Listed in the National Register May 6, 1971.  [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History] Also see added church history under the MORE INFORMATION/PDF link found under the primary picture.

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R&R HISTORY LINK: A SCHS Mag. Article, “Feather Beds and the 96 District”, by M.K. Davis

R&R HISTORY LINK: NATIONAL REGISTER IMAGE(S) – Trinity Cemetery

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