St. Andrew's Church

St. Andrew's Church. . , Side A , Reverend Andrew Fowler was elected rector of Christ Church in 1828. He bought a village home on Whilden Street where he held services for 40 people from June to Advent to avoid the malaria-plagued sickly season. Services were held at Christ Church during the rest of the year. In 1833, the congregation proposed to build a village chapel for summer services. Governed by Christ Church, St. Andrew’s Chapel was consecrated on September 29, 1835. By 1855, the growing congregation needed a larger church. A new Whilden Street lot was purchased for $250. James M. Curtis built the church, designed by distinguished Charleston architect Edward Brickell White. The cornerstone was laid on May 20, 1857, and the church was consecrated one year later. The old building was sold for $500 to the Etiwan Masonic Lodge No. 95. Over the next 130 years, St. Andrew’s overcame many trials. During the Civil War, when Union shelling drove most residents to the

Side B , Upstate, the chapel was closed from October 1863 until February 1866 when it re-opened as the only place for public worship. The building withstood destructive hurricanes in 1885, 1893, and 1989, and the earthquake in 1886. Earthquake bolts were added to stabilize the church. The congregation grew steadily in the next century as ferries and the Cooper River Bridge that opened in 1929, connected Mount Pleasant to Charleston. St. Andrew’s Chapel gained independence from Christ Church in 1954. The Ministry Center designed to match the historic chapel was completed in 1996. In 2009, as one of the nation’s largest Episcopal churches, St. Andrew’s elected to affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America.