222 Calhoun Street
City Directories and History: OLD BETHEL METHODIST CHURCH – Constructed 1797-98; moved from Pitt and Calhoun Streets 1880
“Bethel Methodist Church was organized in 1797, and the original church building was completed by 1798. The third-oldest church structure in Charleston, the building originally stood on the corner of Pitt and Calhoun Streets where the present brick church of Bethel Methodist now
stands. The simple frame structure was moved to the rear corner of the property in 1852 after Bethel Methodist’s brick church was completed. The old church became the meeting place of the African American members of Bethel’s congregation. In 1880 the building was rolled across Calhoun Street to its present location, where it became congregation includes descendants or the 1880 congregation.
The church was designed with a simple rectangular floor plan measuring 40 by 60 feet. Originally its only ornamentation included the simple classical cornice and front and rear gables. The columned portico was added in 1880 after the church was moved to its present location. The galleried interior is plainly finished in keeping with the meetinghouse tradition. With the exception of the pressed ceiling, the pews, and the organ, the church retains much of its 1798 appearance.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston – Author, for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
“Old Bethel Methodist Church is the oldest structure of Methodism in the Lowcountry and possibly in South Carolina. lt is the third oldest church building in the city, with St. Michael’s (175l-61) and the Unitarian Church (c. 1770) being older. Originally, the building stood on the southwest corner of Pitt and Calhoun streets. In 1852 the frame building was moved to the west end of the church grounds and used there for class meetings of Bethel’s black members, after the present brick church of Bethel Methodist was built.
In 1880, the building was given to the black members and rolled across Calhoun Street to the present location. The congregation today includes descendants of the 1880 congregation. The church, built in 1797-98, was originally a plain meeting house, a simple rectangle in plan, finished with a classic cornice and front and rear gables. The portico with its four fluted columns was added after the building was moved to the present site. The columns have modified Tower of the Winds type capitals. The galleried interior is plainly finished, in the meeting house tradition. Formerly, the church had a high pulpit with a sounding board. The present pulpit is said to have been used by Francis Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in the United States, on his visit to Charleston in 1798.” (Legerton, 46-47. Stockton, DYKYC, Dec. 22, 1980. National Register Nomination, Feb. 21, 1975 Stoney, This is Charleston , 20. ) – CCPL
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