The first "Free" Church...St. Stephen's Episcopal and the Three Sarahs

67 Anson Street

     Nestled comfortably among the historic homes and gardens of the quiet neighborhood of Ansonborough is a church that bears a distinction no other can claim. In a time when, in order to attend church, you were required to pay rent on or purchase your pew, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church was established as the first "free" church in America-- where anyone who wanted to worship was welcomed no matter their race, financial  means, or social status. The early congregation (established in 1822) was a diverse mix of white and African-American (both free and slave), wealthy and destitute members. In recent years, it has returned to that diversity with both white and African-American members coming together in both worship and service.

     

     St. Stephen's owes its earliest existence to a trio of ladies dubbed "The Three Sarahs". The first of the three Sarahs was Sarah Hopton Russell, wife of wealthy merchant Nathaniel Russell and mother of two daughters, Alicia and Sarah. They made up the family that built the beautiful Federalist home at 51 Meeting Street, the Nathaniel Russell house, which now serves as a home museum maintained by Historic Charleston Foundation.  Sarah Russell was an advocate for those less fortunate and spent much of her energy and means in providing relief for the destitute.  Along with her daughter, Sarah, who married Theodore Dehon, Second Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina, and Sarah Rutledge, daughter of Edward Rutledge, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of South Carolina, Sarah Russell set out to provide a place of worship for those who could not afford the pew rent necessary for worship in other churches. Together they founded the Ladies Benevolent Association in 1819. They began to elicit funds to make this a reality. Sarah Rutledge authored a cookbook entitled "The Carolina Housewife", with the proceeds going to establish a free church. Sarah Russell donated land on Guignard Street to be used for the construction of the new church building.  In 1924, the new building was consecrated.       
     
     Sadly, the structure burned in the fire of 1835. A few items, including the organ and a tablet for Mrs. Russell were saved from the fire and are in the present church. The new church was built on Anson Street and was probably designed and built by John and Henry Horlbeck who owned Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant. Their brickyard supplied the bricks used in the chapel. The Anson Street chapel, beautiful in its simplicity is constructed of stuccoed brick in a simple Greek Revival style. It stood unscathed in the Great Fire of 1838 which miraculously spared the church by a sudden change of the direction of the wind. 

     In a church built on inclusiveness, they insisted that no one would ever be turned away. All who enter this historic church are reminded of this promise with the words engraved over the door:  "My house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL people".



     

      

The Confederate Home......Mary Amarinthia Snowden's Legacy of Sanctuary

The Confederate Home, 62 Broad Street

     Perhaps you have glimpsed this stately Victorian building as you hurried along Broad St. It sits solidly along the street known for law offices and business buildings. Yet, if you simply hurried by, you missed the gift inside -- the sanctuary of retreat, reflection and safety that has marked its history and its story.

       Built in 1800 by Gilbert Chalmers, the building does indeed border Chalmers St. as it fronts Broad St. In the beginning it was the home of Chalmers' daughter and her husband, Gov. John Geddes, and it bore witness to the political entertaining that was an integral part of the office they represented. Many prominent citizens were hosted here, including President James Monroe in 1819. In 1834, the property was sold to Angus Stewart and became the Carolina Hotel. In the years preceding the Civil War, the U.S. District Court was held on the second floor. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, in a pronouncement and action that must have been dramatic at least, Judge Andrew Gordon Magrath closed the courtroom with the words, "The Temple of Justice is now closed".  From 1861 until February of 1865, the Confederate court met here.

     The heart of the story of the Confederate Home begins in 1867 when Mary Amarinthia Snowden and her sister, Isabell, saw a need that they longed to fill. Their goal was to provide a home -  a sanctuary if you will - for mothers, widows and daughters of Confederate soldiers. The old Carolina Hotel on Broad Street was the object of their attention. With seven other like-minded women and one Huguenot minister, they began meeting in earnest at the Snowden home. In the years immediately following the war, Charleston was struggling on every level....from economic impossibilities to physical devastation. Fund-raising was challenging at best. There was only one dollar in the coffers for the Confederate Home and it had been contributed by a Baltimore widow!  The Snowden sisters mortgaged their own home in order to pay the rent on the Carolina Hotel ---and set it on the road to accomplishing the vision that Mary Amarinthia had held. The education of young women was not a high priority in the general public during those lean years; however, for the young women who came to be a part of the Confederate Home, education was a critical means to a better life and a better community. By 1900, The Confederate Home became known as The Confederate College and was chartered by the state. Many instructors, including Dr. Charles Vedder, pastor of the French Huguenot Church, taught the young women at The Confederate College - and did so without benefit of salary.

Courtyard of The Confederate Home

          Today, The Confederate Home fulfills a purpose not far removed from the one Amarinthia Snowden envisioned -- one of sanctuary for women, reflection for artists and education for the greater good - and a promise of a better life. The dormitories have been converted to apartments and fifteen older and economically-challenged women call this place home. In addition, fifteen studios provide space for Charleston's artists and writers to reflect and create. The old courtroom is used for lectures and other events and young couples have said their wedding vows in this place that once gave hope and promise to young women of a different era.