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St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church and Cemetery Tours

October 21, 2023 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Free
historic gravestones

The guided tours will be held the first and third Saturdays from July through September and the third Saturday only from October through December. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes. There will be no rain dates. Register at www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours

In 1827, Charles Baring, a member of the Baring banking family of England, built a home in Flat Rock. He and his wife, Susan, wanted a summer place to escape the oppressive heat, humidity, and malaria of the South Carolina Lowcountry where they lived. The Barings built a chapel on the property of their newly constructed home. Soon after it was built the small wooden structure burned down in a woods fire. In 1833 work began on a second church built of handmade brick.

In August of 1836 the Barings deeded their chapel to the Diocese of North Carolina and 20 members of the Flat Rock “summer colony” formed themselves into an Episcopal parish. In the 1890s when the Missionary District of Asheville (later Diocese of Western North Carolina) was formed, St. John in the Wilderness transferred its affiliation. It is the oldest parish in the diocese. With almost all the church members traveling back to the Lowcountry after the summer season, the church mainly operated during summer months for its first 120 years. So rapid was the growth of the Flat Rock community during the 1830s and 1840s that the parish membership outgrew the capacity of the small chapel. In the early 1850s the decision was made to rebuild the church, essentially doubling its size. With only a few minor modifications the structure was completed in 1852. It is the one that stands today.

 

Details

Date:
October 21, 2023
Time:
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Cost:
Free
Event Tags:
Website:
www.stjohnflatrock.org/tours

Venue

St John in The Wilderness Episcopal Church
1905 Greenville Hwy
Hendersonville, NC 28739 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
828-693-9783
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