Grace Episcopal Church — Ridge Spring, South Carolina

Grace Episcopal, located in Ridge Spring, formed in 1873. The congregation met at a local Baptist church until the Boatright family donated land for a church site. The Carpenter Gothic-style structure was built and consecrated in 1874.

Today, Grace Episcopal Church is one of three church structures comprising the Episcopal Church of the Ridge. In 1973, Bishop John Pinckney and Archdeacon William Beckham devised a plan to merge small Episcopal churches in Saluda, Edgefield, and Lexington counties. This consolidation would allow the churches to share a priest, a budget, and a governing board. Grace Episcopal Church in Saluda County currently remains an active part of the Episcopal Church of the Ridge along with Trinity Episcopal Church in Edgefield and the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in Trenton (also in Edgefield County). The congregation rotates locations each Sunday.

Architectural points of interest in Grace Episcopal Church include original stained glass windows behind the altar and one of the oldest church bells in South Carolina. The bell is inscribed, “James Kinloch of South Carolina, 1750” and was brought to Grace Episcopal from Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church in Georgetown by Bishop Howe shortly after Grace Episcopal church was built.

Grace Episcopal Church Map

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