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St. James's Episcopal Church,
Goose Creek
BERKELEY COUNTY
The Goose Creek neighborhood was settled by
English. Barbadian, and Huguenot colonists soon after the
founding of South Carolina in 1670. A church which served them
stood on or near this spot before 1700. In it the Reverend
Samuel Thomas, first of a long line of missionaries sent to
the province by the society for the propagation of the Gospel,
ministered after 1702.
By the Act establishing the
Church of England this parish was formed in 1706, and the
first church built about 1707. Under its first rector, the
Reverend Dr. Francis Le Jau, the present building was erected
about 1713.
Tradition is that this is the only church
in the Low Country, outside of Charleston, that was not
profaned by the British, a consideration attributed to the
presence of the royal arms over the chancel. These arms were
destroyed, says the Reverend Robert Wilson, "by the earthquake
of 1886, and their exact restoration seemed impossible. But a
few years before a lady, now deceased, the daughter of one of
South Carolina's greatest scientists, whom the world delights
to honor (the late Prof. John McCrady), had painted a copy in
oils for the use of a New England historical society. This was
obtained and from it the restoration was made as it now
stands."
In addition to the royal arms, another
interesting and unusual adornment of the church is the
hatchment of Ralph Izard, said by some to be the only
hatchment in America, by others to be one of only two in
America, this being a custom seldom practiced outside of
England.
After the Revolution the population of the
parish fell off and the last regular rector to officiate was
in 1808. The building was allowed to decay until 1844 when it
was extensively repaired and afterwards
dedicated.
During the Confederate War the records and
the communion plate were lost. In the disorder of
Reconstruction the church fell into the hands of the Negroes
and was not recovered and reopened for worship until 1876.
Since that time at least one regular service is held each year
on the afternoon of the Sunday next after Easter.
The
earthquake of 1886 caused a great deal of damage to the
building. In 1931 the vestry undertook a number of much needed
restorations. The exterior has been painted to follow a sketch
made of the structure in 1803 by Charles Fraser, the
celebrated painter of miniatures. At the same time the wall
with its gate was placed around the graveyard through the
generosity of the South Carolina Society Colonial Dames of
America.
BY
HAZEL CROWSON SELLERS
South Carolina Churches
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