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Trinity United Methodist Church

SC PICTURE PROJECT 3 Comments

SC Picture Project / Orangeburg County / Trinity United Methodist Church

The Trinity United Methodist Church is located in Orangeburg. This traditionally African – American church was established in 1866 and served as the headquarters for the Orangeburg Movement during the 1960s. The church hosted many civil rights meetings and rallies attended by leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Thurgood Marshall.

Trinity United Methodist Church

Mike Stroud of Bluffton, 2010 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Trinity United Methodist Church is listed in the National Register, which adds the following:

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is significant as an excellent example of twentieth-century Gothic Revival church architecture and for its association with Orangeburg’s extensive and influential African American community. This building is the fourth separate sanctuary serving this congregation and was designed by William W. Wilkins (1881-1937), a professor of Manual Training and Industrial Education and teacher-trainer of Shopwork at South Carolina State College from 1918 until 1937. Wilkins never held an architect’s license but designed buildings under the supervision of Miller F. Whittaker.

Construction was starting in 1928, but due to the Depression was not completed until 1944. The completion of this sanctuary during a sixteen-year period of extreme economic hardship helps illustrate the importance of this church and its congregation to the city of Orangeburg. The central role played by Trinity Methodist during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s as the site of the most influential leaders of South Carolina’s African American community is further confirmation of the continuing significance of this church not only to Orangeburg, but to the state as well.

The church is cruciform in plan and is set upon a raised basement with beveled cast stone water table. The church’s main block rises two stories and features a large Tudor arched stained glass window with molded cast stone surround, wall buttresses, a centered three-part louvered vent, and parapet gable with cast stone coping. The interior has a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and a double-aisled nave flanked by wings accessed by a triple Gothic arched opening.

Plan Your Trip: Trinity United Methodist Church

Where is Trinity United Methodist Church located?
Address: 185 Boulevard Street, Orangeburg, SC 29115
GPS Coordinates: 33.495577,-80.856432
What else should I see?
Dukes-Harley Funeral Home 0.4 mile
All Star Bowling 0.5 mile
Judge Glover House 0.5 mile
Orangeburg County Courthouse 0.7 mile
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Churches
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • Orangeburg Historic Sites
    Trinity United Methodist Church Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Harriett Salley Kizer says

      December 7, 2015 at 7:21 AM

      I am trying to get in touch with the Garvis Brotheres for possible singing at my Dad’s (DD Salley) 90th surprise birthday party at the Orangeburg Country Club. Do you have contact information? Thank you so much for your possible help. Harriett S Kizer

      Reply
    2. Rosa Bogar says

      December 27, 2012 at 3:37 PM

      Civil Rights Remembrance Day commemoration was held at Trinity Church on May 4th 1997. These celebrations brought pioneers of the Orangeburg Movement together for the first time in more than thirty years. Plans are forthcoming for a sixteen commemoration. I am a native of Orangeburg – my father and grandmother were devoted members of Trinity United Methodist Church. Blessings, Rosa Mavins Bogar

      Reply
    3. Kathleen says

      June 19, 2011 at 12:51 AM

      Wow, I went to Bible School here many years ago!

      Reply

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    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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    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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