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Zion Chapel of Ease

SC PICTURE PROJECT 2 Comments

SC Picture Project / Beaufort County / Zion Chapel of Ease

The cemetery with its historic Baynard Mausoleum is all that remains of the Zion Chapel of Ease on Hilton Head Island. The chapel was built around 1786 as part of the Episcopal St. Luke’s Parish, which was established in 1767 and included what are now Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.

Zion Cemetery Mausoleum

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Zion Chapel of Ease was built to accomodate islanders who were inconvenienced by boat travel to the parish’s primary church, St. Luke’s, on the mainland (Bluffton).

Zion Cemetery Broken Fence

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Within the cemetery are the remains of four Revolutionary War patriots, including Charles Devant, who was ambushed and killed near this site by Captain Martinangel’s Royalist militia in 1781.

Baynard Cemetery

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Members of the local William E. Baynard family were once interred in the mausoleum, but their remains have since been moved. The mausoleum was built in 1846 and is the oldest remaining structure on Hilton Head Island.

Baynard Mausoleum

Mike Stroud of Bluffton, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The grounds of the Zion Chapel of Ease and cemetery sit along Mathews Drive, named for the chapel’s first permanent priest. Reverend Philip Mathews arrived to the island in 1811 and served as the St. Luke’s Parish rector until 1828.

Zion Cemetery Grounds with Iron Gate

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Union troops occupied the area during the Civil War in 1862, including the chapel, and residents were forced to flee to the mainland. By 1868, nothing of the Zion Chapel of Ease remained other than its cemetery.

Zion Cemetery Closeup

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Zion Chapel of Ease is listed in the National Register:

The St. Luke’s Parish Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery, located at the corner of Mathews Drive and William Hilton Parkway on Hilton Head Island was listed in the National Register October 5, 2017. The Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery is significant at the local level under Criterion C for its distinctive funerary art from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Criterion D (Archeology) applies because of the site’s potential to yield significant information about the Hilton Head planter elite through the study of their mortuary practices, and for the potential to locate and study the remains of St. Luke’s Parish Zion Chapel of Ease, which was destroyed in the 1860s. The Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery is an extremely rare piece of physical above-ground evidence of the colonial and antebellum history of the island. Indeed, the Baynard Mausoleum located within the cemetery, and constructed in 1846, is believed to be the oldest intact structure on Hilton Head Island. The cemetery contains thirty-four markers, including the Baynard Mausoleum, and two cast-iron fences. Many of the markers are marble tympanum headstones with a willow and urn design and some of these gravesites also include a footstone. Five of the gravestones within the cemetery are marked by the carver’s name or initials. Three of these stones were carved by members of the White and Walker families, who were prevalent stone carvers in Charleston from the 1790s to the 1870s.

More Pictures of Zion Chapel of Ease


Zion Cemetery Gate Detail

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Zion Cemetery Mausoleum Rear

Kristin Kohl of Chicago, IL, 2019 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Plan Your Trip: Zion Chapel of Ease

Where is Zion Chapel of Ease located?
Address: Mathews Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
GPS Coordinates: 32.202566,-80.699489
What else should I see?
Folly Field Beach 1 mile
St. James Baptist Church 3.6 miles
Leamington Lighthouse 5.7 miles
Skull Creek 6.7 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Bygone Landmarks
  • See other South Carolina Cemeteries
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • Hilton Head Historic Sites
    Zion Chapel of Ease Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bill Martz says

      December 21, 2016 at 9:03 PM

      Good evening. I am a member of the St. James Goose Creek Chapel of Ease and we are trying to get onto the National Register of Historic Places. I noticed your nomination was approved. Congrats on that! I was wondering if I could see/use your submission application as a blue print for our Chapel of Ease? Thanks and have a great day!
      Bill

      Reply
    2. Melinda says

      September 16, 2014 at 7:28 PM

      Has anyone ever heard whistling in the cemetery?

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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