A Brief History of the Parish of St. James Santee and
St. James Santee Episcopal Church at Wambaw
In January 1687 a group of French Protestant (Huguenot) immigrants ventured up the Santee River and found a 30 foot high limestone bluff where they sheltered beneath a sail until they could construct a more substantial building “in the Carolina fashion.” They called their settlement Jamestown and began selecting sites for plantations up and down the river. They were joined by other French refuges who had fled persecution, forced abjuration of their faith and sometimes death in their native land. The area became known as French Santee. Of primary importance to them was the establishment of a place of worship and they set aside a strip of land on the bluff overlooking the river for their church and graveyard.
On April 9, 1706, St. James Santee was chartered as a parish of the Church of England – the first parish (the primary geo-political and ecclesiastical unit of the colony) created outside of the city of Charles Towne in Carolina. The Parish of St James Santee extended from Awendaw Creek to the Santee River.
There have been at least six church buildings in the Parish since 1687. The location of church buildings and smaller "chapels of ease" followed the moving population centeers, serving the increasing congregation. The first was located in Jamestown on the Santee River before 1706 and served the roughly one hundred French (Huguenot) settlers. The congregation also built a small wooden chapel on the southeast bank of Echaw Creek to serve the rapidly expanding eastern portion of the parish. In 1714 new Chapel of Ease was ordered to be built to replace the deteriorating wooden one. In 1748 a third chapel on Echaw Creek, this time of brick replaced the wooden structure. The next building, built in 1768 on the King’s Highway, was called Wambaw Church after the plantation where it was located and is now known locally as Old Brick Church. The building now used every Sunday by the congregation was built in McClellanville in 1890 as a Chapel of Ease for Wambaw Church. The location of the buildings followed the moving population center.
About the Brick Church at Wambaw
Although Wambaw Church stands alone on the old King’s Highway among the pines and oaks of the forest, it was once the center of a busy and prosperous community. North and south along the Santee River were rice plantations whose Carolina rice became famous all over the world and the prosperity of the planters is reflected in the beauty and proportions of Wambaw Church. The body of the church was built of brick imported from England, but the columns of the portico were constructed of local wedge-shaped bricks. The pews are made of hand-pegged cypress, the flagstone floor which has withstood the ravages of two wars and the vaulted ceiling still retains the original plaster work.
The building had identical porticos until 1852 when the north one was enclosed to form a vestry room. The Palladian window on the east marks the original chancel which was moved to its present location after the Civil War. Although the pews were removed at that time, they were not damaged and the church was closed until it could be repaired and re-opened.
By 1768 when St. James Santee's Wambaw Church was built, many descendants of the original French refugees had intermarried with English settlers. St. James Santee, though, has always been closely associated with the Huguenot immigrants who first settled the area and has been known variously as “the French Church” and "the church of the Huguenots.”
Wambaw Church did not escape the desolation characteristic of most of the South after the Civil War. By 1877 the majority of the congregation (only 13 families at that time) had relocated to the village of McClellanville and, once the Chapel of Ease in the Village was built, only occasional services were held in the “old Brick Church.” By 1918 an annual service was being held by the congregation who still welcome friends and relatives the Sunday after Easter for an 11 am service followed by a covered dish picnic in the graveyard.
Between the 1920’s and the early 1970’s, various fund-raising efforts were aimed at stabilizing and preserving Brick Church. In 1972 it was designated a National Historic Landmark and, in 2014, the portion of Old Georgetown Road on which the Church stands was entered on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the Brick Church Restoration Committee was formed and met for the first time that April. Since that time, the preservation and restoration of Brick Church has continued.
Today, the Brick Church at Wambaw is valued not only for its architectural and historical significance, but also as a spiritual home for those whose ancestors encountered in it “a mighty refuge.”
About The Chapel of Ease
The establishment of the village of McClellanville meant some members of the congregation were no longer able to conveniently travel to the relatively remote site of the Brick Church at Wambaw. This situation occurred especially during the summer months when many plantation residents sought refuge in the Village with the breezes along Jeremy Creek. Planning for a new church began as early as 1873, but funding for the project was not readily available. The congregation was finding it difficult to pay a minister, so the idea of another church seemed beyond them.
In 1888, members of the congregation began a concerted fund-raising effort: writing letters and organizind other events such as a fair and parish suppers. Finally, funds became available and Mrs. Charlotte Doar, a member of the congregation, donated a town lot as a build site. A contract was made with Paul B. Drayton, the "Village Carpenter," following plans from Mr. A. H. Lucas, who served as architect and supervisor of construction. The design of the chapel is Gothic and the size, about 40 by 60 feet, is almost the same as the Brick Church. All work was done by hand, including mortise and tenon framework and hand-sawn black cypress shingles. Interior designs were drawn by Mr. Lucan on selected wide long-leaf pine boards, which were then sawn with keyhole saws.
The chapel was consecrated on November 2, 1890, by Bishop William Bell White Howe, but many finishing touches were not completed for another ten years. The Chapel of Ease now serves as the main church for the St. James Santee congregation.
St. James Santee Episcopal Church at Wambaw
In January 1687 a group of French Protestant (Huguenot) immigrants ventured up the Santee River and found a 30 foot high limestone bluff where they sheltered beneath a sail until they could construct a more substantial building “in the Carolina fashion.” They called their settlement Jamestown and began selecting sites for plantations up and down the river. They were joined by other French refuges who had fled persecution, forced abjuration of their faith and sometimes death in their native land. The area became known as French Santee. Of primary importance to them was the establishment of a place of worship and they set aside a strip of land on the bluff overlooking the river for their church and graveyard.
On April 9, 1706, St. James Santee was chartered as a parish of the Church of England – the first parish (the primary geo-political and ecclesiastical unit of the colony) created outside of the city of Charles Towne in Carolina. The Parish of St James Santee extended from Awendaw Creek to the Santee River.
There have been at least six church buildings in the Parish since 1687. The location of church buildings and smaller "chapels of ease" followed the moving population centeers, serving the increasing congregation. The first was located in Jamestown on the Santee River before 1706 and served the roughly one hundred French (Huguenot) settlers. The congregation also built a small wooden chapel on the southeast bank of Echaw Creek to serve the rapidly expanding eastern portion of the parish. In 1714 new Chapel of Ease was ordered to be built to replace the deteriorating wooden one. In 1748 a third chapel on Echaw Creek, this time of brick replaced the wooden structure. The next building, built in 1768 on the King’s Highway, was called Wambaw Church after the plantation where it was located and is now known locally as Old Brick Church. The building now used every Sunday by the congregation was built in McClellanville in 1890 as a Chapel of Ease for Wambaw Church. The location of the buildings followed the moving population center.
About the Brick Church at Wambaw
Although Wambaw Church stands alone on the old King’s Highway among the pines and oaks of the forest, it was once the center of a busy and prosperous community. North and south along the Santee River were rice plantations whose Carolina rice became famous all over the world and the prosperity of the planters is reflected in the beauty and proportions of Wambaw Church. The body of the church was built of brick imported from England, but the columns of the portico were constructed of local wedge-shaped bricks. The pews are made of hand-pegged cypress, the flagstone floor which has withstood the ravages of two wars and the vaulted ceiling still retains the original plaster work.
The building had identical porticos until 1852 when the north one was enclosed to form a vestry room. The Palladian window on the east marks the original chancel which was moved to its present location after the Civil War. Although the pews were removed at that time, they were not damaged and the church was closed until it could be repaired and re-opened.
By 1768 when St. James Santee's Wambaw Church was built, many descendants of the original French refugees had intermarried with English settlers. St. James Santee, though, has always been closely associated with the Huguenot immigrants who first settled the area and has been known variously as “the French Church” and "the church of the Huguenots.”
Wambaw Church did not escape the desolation characteristic of most of the South after the Civil War. By 1877 the majority of the congregation (only 13 families at that time) had relocated to the village of McClellanville and, once the Chapel of Ease in the Village was built, only occasional services were held in the “old Brick Church.” By 1918 an annual service was being held by the congregation who still welcome friends and relatives the Sunday after Easter for an 11 am service followed by a covered dish picnic in the graveyard.
Between the 1920’s and the early 1970’s, various fund-raising efforts were aimed at stabilizing and preserving Brick Church. In 1972 it was designated a National Historic Landmark and, in 2014, the portion of Old Georgetown Road on which the Church stands was entered on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the Brick Church Restoration Committee was formed and met for the first time that April. Since that time, the preservation and restoration of Brick Church has continued.
Today, the Brick Church at Wambaw is valued not only for its architectural and historical significance, but also as a spiritual home for those whose ancestors encountered in it “a mighty refuge.”
About The Chapel of Ease
The establishment of the village of McClellanville meant some members of the congregation were no longer able to conveniently travel to the relatively remote site of the Brick Church at Wambaw. This situation occurred especially during the summer months when many plantation residents sought refuge in the Village with the breezes along Jeremy Creek. Planning for a new church began as early as 1873, but funding for the project was not readily available. The congregation was finding it difficult to pay a minister, so the idea of another church seemed beyond them.
In 1888, members of the congregation began a concerted fund-raising effort: writing letters and organizind other events such as a fair and parish suppers. Finally, funds became available and Mrs. Charlotte Doar, a member of the congregation, donated a town lot as a build site. A contract was made with Paul B. Drayton, the "Village Carpenter," following plans from Mr. A. H. Lucas, who served as architect and supervisor of construction. The design of the chapel is Gothic and the size, about 40 by 60 feet, is almost the same as the Brick Church. All work was done by hand, including mortise and tenon framework and hand-sawn black cypress shingles. Interior designs were drawn by Mr. Lucan on selected wide long-leaf pine boards, which were then sawn with keyhole saws.
The chapel was consecrated on November 2, 1890, by Bishop William Bell White Howe, but many finishing touches were not completed for another ten years. The Chapel of Ease now serves as the main church for the St. James Santee congregation.