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Photos: St. James Santee Parish Churchnear Hampton Plantation in South Carolina
The following information is quoted from the
sign posted outside the church.
"Erected in 1768, this edifice, officially known as Wambaw Church, was situated on the Kin's Highway. It is the fourth church to serve St. James Santee Parish. The parish, founded in 1706 at the request of French Huguenot settlers, was the second oldest in the colony. The Rev. Samuel Fenner Warren served as parish rector from 1758 until his death in 1789." The following is a quote from the Hopsewee Plantation site (http://www.hopsewee.com/BrickChurch.htm) that talks about the St. James Church: "Although this beautiful old brick Church now stands alone on the old King's highway among the oaks and pines of the forest, it was once the center of a busy and prosperous community. North and south along the Santee river were rich rice plantations, shipping rice in large casks from their wharves to Charleston to be sent on to England, Holland, Portugal or France. Carolina rice became famous all over the world as being the very finest. The prosperity of the planters is reflected in the beauty and proportions of the St. James Santee Parish Church. The body of the church is built of brick imported from England but the columns of the portico pews are made of hand pegged cypress. The flagstone floor has withstood the ravages of two wars. The vaulted ceiling still retains the original plaster work. The church is tucked away in the woods near Hampton Plantation and not that many people may take the time to discover it. Obviously well-cared for, the gravestones in the church yard provide interesting reading and an insight into another time. The following are some links with additional information on the church." St. James Parish - the census of 1790 http://www.rootsweb.com/~scbchs/stjamessantee.htm Better pictures of the interior of the church can be found at: http://www.hopsewee.com/BrickChurch2002.htm Thomas Lynch, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was a resident of this parish. For teachers interested in connecting the information about this church to the early plantation cultures, we'd like to suggest that you look at the links at this site as follows: |
