Berkeley County · Marker 08-34
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
Mendel Rivers Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 45), just E of its junction with U.S. Hwy. 52, St. Stephen
Front inscription
St. Stephen’s, built 1767-69, is a fine example of the rural churches built in the S.C. lowcountry before the Revolution. “The Church is one of the handsomest Country Churches in So. Ca. and would be no mean ornament in Charleston,” the Rev. Frederick Dalcho wrote in his 1808 history of S.C. Episcopalians.
Reverse inscription
Essentially Georgian in style, St. Stephen’s features a gambrel roof with curvilinear gables and ornate interior woodwork such as its high pulpit. Services were suspended many times over the years. The church was last restored and regular services resumed in 1955. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.