Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Orangeburg in Orangeburg County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Trinity United Methodist Church

 
 
Trinity United Methodist Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2009
1. Trinity United Methodist Church Marker
Inscription. This African - American church, was established in 1866, built its first sanctuary 4 blocks SE in 1870. Construction began on this sanctuary in 1928 and was completed in 1944. Trinty, headquarters for the Orangeburg Movement during the 1960s, hosted many civil rights meetings and rallies attended by leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Thurgood Marshall.
 
Erected 1996 by the Congregation. (Marker Number 38-24.)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansChurches & ReligionCivil Rights. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.
 
Location. 33° 29.749′ N, 80° 51.369′ W. Marker is in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in Orangeburg County. Marker is on Boulevard Street (State Highway 38-25) near Amelia Street (State Highway 38-70), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orangeburg SC 29115, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. South Carolina State University (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Orangeburg Massacre (about 400 feet away); St. Paul's Episcopal Church (about 600 feet away); Episcopal Church of the Redeemer and Graveyard (about 600 feet away); Claflin College
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
(about 700 feet away); Civil Rights Meetings / Sit-in March (about 800 feet away); Church of the Redeemer (approx. ¼ mile away); Judge Glover's Home (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orangeburg.
 
Regarding Trinity United Methodist Church. Like the Birmingham Campaign a few months earlier, "The Orangeburg Movement" focused on desegregating public facilities. On July 31, 1963, a South Carolina State student launched the movement by refusing to leave a local restaurant. Three weeks later, movement leaders demanded that City Council desegregate public accommodations, comply with court-ordered school desegregation, and expand job opportunities for African Americans. Mass demonstrations, which by now included children, continued until the passage of the Civil Rights Act on June 2, 1964. (Source: National Park Service)
 
Also see . . .  Knowing who I am: a Black entrepreneur's struggle and success in the American South. By Earl M. Middleton, Joy W. Barnes, Pages 91-100 Orangeburg Movement- (Submitted on November 25, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. This building is the fourth separate sanctuary
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is significant as an excellent example of twentieth-century
Trinity United Methodist Church image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mike Stroud, November 15, 2009
2. Trinity United Methodist Church
Gothic Revival church architecture and for its association with Orangeburg’s extensive and influential African American community.

This building is the fourth separate sanctuary serving this congregation and was designed by William W. Wilkins (1881-1937), a professor of Manual Training and Industrial Education and teacher-trainer of Shopwork at South Carolina State College from 1918 until 1937. Wilkins never held an architect’s license but designed buildings under the supervision of Miller F. Whittaker. Construction was starting in 1928, but due to the Depression was not completed until 1944. The completion of this sanctuary during a sixteen-year period of extreme economic hardship helps illustrate the importance of this church and its congregation to the city of Orangeburg.

The central role played by Trinity Methodist during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s as the site of the most influential leaders of South Carolina’s African American community is further confirmation of the continuing significance of this church not only to Orangeburg, but to the state as well.

The church is cruciform in plan and is set upon a raised basement with beveled cast stone water table. The church’s main block rises two stories and features a large Tudor arched stained glass window with molded cast stone surround, wall buttresses, a centered three-part
Trinity United Methodist Church image. Click for full size.
S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, circa 1994
3. Trinity United Methodist Church
louvered vent, and parapet gable with cast stone coping. The interior has a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and a double-aisled nave flanked by wings accessed by a triple Gothic arched opening.
    — Submitted November 27, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.

 
Additional keywords. Desegregation
 
Trinity United Methodist Church Marker image. Click for full size.
S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, circa 1994
4. Trinity United Methodist Church Marker
Trinity United Methodist Church , Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Interior-Sanctuary image. Click for full size.
S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, circa 1994
5. Trinity United Methodist Church , Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Interior-Sanctuary
Trinity United Methodist Church Altar image. Click for full size.
S.C. Dept. of Archives and History, circa 1994
6. Trinity United Methodist Church Altar
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 25, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,365 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on November 25, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 27, 2009, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=24799

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 19, 2024