Churches - General Information

Two interesting sets of ruins of colonial churches are in Beaufort County. Old Sheldon Church was the Prince William Parish Church, built in 1745 on land donated by Edmund Bellinger. It was named for the Bull family whose ancestral home in England was known as Sheldon Hall. The church was burned in the American Revolution, rebuilt in 1826, and burned again, this time by General Sherman on his march to the sea.

Saint Helena Parish Chapel of Ease ruins are significant as a relatively intact example of mid-eighteenth century tabby construction. Built in 1740, it was virtually abandoned when the planters evacuated the island in 1861. It was used as a sanctuary by Methodist freedmen as early as 1868, and was destroyed by a forest fire in 1886.

Browse the menu at left (or if on a mobile device, click on the + icon above) to learn about other historic churches of interest.