St. Mark's Union Methodist Episcopal Church

Front inscription

St. Mark’s Church was originally part of the Reformed Methodist Union Episcopal (RMUE) Church. RMUE ministers worked in the Johns Island area soon after the denomination formed in Charleston in 1885. St. Mark’s formally organized by 1890 to serve African American residents of Johns Island and Red Top.

Reverse inscription

In 1913 St. Mark’s became one of the founding members of the Union Methodist Episcopal (UME) Church. Rev. Joseph Ellison, then pastor at St. Mark’s, led efforts to form the denomination as a breakaway of the RMUE Church. In 1969 a concrete block building replaced what may have been the original wood frame church.