1513 Cainhoy Road
“A South Carolina’s site having a strong connection to the turbulence of Southern reconstruction.”
City Directories and History: (St. Thomas & St. Dennis Parish Episcopal Church; Brick Church) White Church, or St. Thomas & St. Dennis Parish Episcopal Church, was constructed in 1819 and occupies the site of the older parish church of St. Thomas, which was built about 1706 but which burned in 1815. During the Reconstruction period, the church was the scene of the 1876 “Cainhoy Massacre,” a serious riot between 
whites and blacks which developed when some white men from Charleston journeyed to Cainhoy to attend a Negro Republican meeting. The blacks fired upon the white men with guns they had hidden in a vault at St. Thomas churchyard. The church, charming in its simplicity of design, is a uniquely beautiful example of a small, rural parish church of the early 1800s. The church, with its Classical Revival or late Federal features, is made of stucco over brick with a medium gable roof made of tile. A high-arched doorway with a fanlight capped by a five-panel arch is set between pilasters. The side facades are identical. A balcony above the inside door was added about 1858. In 1937 the church was restored by . An unusual and distinctive auxiliary building is the vestry, with hipped roof on one end and chimney on the other, giving the appearance of a half-completed building. A cemetery dating from 1782 is included in the nomination. Listed in the National Register September 22, 1977. [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History]
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HISTORY THREAD
Please enjoy this structure and all those listed in Roots and Recall. But remember each is private property. So view them from a distance or from a public area such as the sidewalk or public road.
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IMAGE GALLERY via photographer Bill Segars – 2006
GRAVE YARD GALLERY – Photo contributed to R&R by Gazie Nagle @ www.fineartbygazie.com
