Emma Gale writes: My ancestors (The Andrews), founded this Church circa 1865-1867. Originally they were up in Rumph Island, about 10 miles, headed toward Mt. Pleasant. The church and a school was started in the home of my Uncle Dock. My Grand-Uncle (Dock Andrews), and other relatives once owned Bull Island (at the end of this Road), that the Church is on, and much of the property down this Road. My Grand uncle (Rev. Alex Anderson), brother to my Maternal Grandmother, once pastored First African Missionary Baptist (Everett).
This interesting church in the Harrington community was built just as the historic African-American neighborhoods of St. Simons were reaching their ebb. It’s a utilitarian example of the two-tower style, common among African-American congregations on the coast in an earlier time. The cinderblock structure, built sometime between 1950-1954, has unpainted sides, with the front being the only “finished” section.
Many thanks to Elysabeth Hunter, who kindly shared more of the history: Both churches are St. Andrew’s, which are Holiness/Pentecostal. The one in the back was the original [circa 1920]. My grandfather, Elder Andrew Hunter, Sr., built both. I am sure he had his sons to help. My grandmother, First Lady Beatrice Hunter, sold chicken dinners and homemade ice cream to help fund the church.
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and the adjacent Good Shepherd Parochial School are essentially all that remain of the historic Pennick community, a settlement of the descendants of freed slaves. Like Needwood Church and School, also located in Glynn County, they represent a rare church/school complex in relatively original condition. I’m hopeful they’ll both be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the near future.
The school was founded by Deaconess Anna Ellison Butler Alexander (1865-1947), who took very seriously the education of her community and became the first black deaconess in the Episcopal Church in 1907. In 1999, she was named a Saint of Georgia, with a feast day of 24 September.
I recently acquired this postcard, mailed by Deaconess Alexander from the Fort Valley High & Industrial School (forerunner to Fort Valley State College) to Dean Richard of the Bishop Tuttle House in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1931.
This historic congregation was founded by Reverend Jupiter Gilliard on 23 October 1891. The first deacons of the church were London Gilliard, Charles Harris, Baker Stafford, Sr., and Hector Blue. The original church building was replaced with this one in 1954, during the pastorate of Reverend Robert J. Leggett. The cornerstone displays the cipher of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall, Grand Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons, Jurisdiction of Georgia.
Reverend Gilliard’s great-great-great grandchildren operate Gilliard Farms, a Georgia Centennial Farm on the adjacent property. It’s been in the family since 1874 and is one of the most important African-American farms in Georgia, due to its history and longevity.
Founded in 1808, Christ Church did not build a permanent house of worship until 1820, due largely to economic troubles stemming from the War of 1812. The first structure stood until the Civil War, when Union troops damaged it so badly that members were forced to meet in their homes until the present structure was built in 1884.
The interior of Christ Church is breathtaking. Shipbuilders built the new cruciform church to resemble an inverted ship’s hull, symbolic of the ship of faith There are various stained glass windows throughout.
Christ Church Cemetery, Frederica
The church and graveyard are among the most visited and beloved places on St. Simons. It’s the final resting place of many Georgia pioneers and veterans of nearly every war dating from the American Revolution onward. The following photos are a general survey. I’ll be adding more specific burials at a later date.
Hazzard Mausoleum
The Hazzard family owned West Point and Pike’s Bluff plantations on St. Simons. This tabby mausoleum is one of the most interesting gravesites in Christ Church cemetery. The date A. D. 1813 is inscribed on a bronze marker at the foot of the mausoleum and is a bit mysterious. This history of the Hazzards was written by Carey C. Giudici: The Hazzard family was one of the Island’s most colorful families. Originally from South Carolina, Revolutionary War veteran Colonel William Hazzard moved to the area and purchased West Point in 1818. This plantation, just north of Frederica, became the home of Hazzard’s oldest son Colonel William Wigg Hazzard. Nine years later the younger son, Dr. Thomas Fuller Hazzard bought the Pike’s Bluff property that adjoined West Point to the north. The family now owned much of the north end of St. Simons Island. Very active in church activities, they also served as representatives to Georgia’s House of Representatives, enjoyed competing in their racing boats Shark and Comet, and frequently went hunting with their pack of deer hounds. Both were also noted writers; William Wigg Hazzard’s 1825 history of Glynn County is still in print. In 1838 a boundary dispute resulted in Dr. Thomas Hazzard shooting a young neighbor, John Armstrong Wylly. Tradition has it that although Dr. Hazzard was acquitted of any crime, the family was so ostracized by the other planter families that they built their own family chapel on West Point–which became known as “The Pink Chapel” because of the lichen-based discoloration on its tabby walls. Colonel Hazzard’s son, Captain William Miles Hazzard, commanded the local Confederate Army detachment during the Civil War. With nine troops and a slave named Henry, he burned the U.S. Navy headquarters on the occupied St. Simons.
Eugenia Price (22 June 1916 – 28 May 1996)
World-famous for her historical novels set on the Georgia coast in the early days of white settlement, Eugenia Price was largely responsible for the national attention Christ Church has received in the ensuing years. My mother has always been a big fan of her writing. From the Lighthouse trilogy and the Georgia trilogy to the Florida trilogy and the Savannah quartet, most of her books are still in print or readily available on the coast, especially on St. Simons.
This lovely chapel is one of the most beautiful churches on St. Simons Island, like its mother church, Christ Church, Frederica. The following history comes from the Christ Church, Frederica website: St. Ignatius Church was built in 1886 for the former slaves on St. Simons Island. After a hurricane in 1898 it was rebuilt and rotated 90°. The wood has never been stained but it looks this way due to the process of aging. It was made with heart of pine and oak. The Altar rail is hand carved. The Lectern, the Bishop’s chair, Priest’s chair, and Baptismal font were all donated by Lovely Lane Chapel. The stained glass windows behind the Altar were made in Philadelphia by the Willet Company. The Hand depicts God the Father, the Lamb depicts God the Son, and the Dove depicts the Holy Spirit.
The candlesticks on the Altar were brought from England in 1858. The bell was installed in the 1980’s and is from the WWII Liberty Ship Henry Wynkoop. The reed organ was built circa 1900 and installed at Christ Church Frederica in 1933. The original hand pump is still intact. The pipes are merely decorative. For years, the windows in the Church were translucent, jalousie-panel glass. But beginning in the year 2000 ten new stained glass windows were designed by M.B. Keys, a parishioner of Christ Church Frederica, and made by the Wippell Company of Exeter, England. The Rt. Rev. Henry I. Louttit, Bishop of Georgia, blessed the new windows April 29, 2001.
The grounds here are beautiful and if you’re looking for a place for quite reflection, just pull into the parking lot and have a look around.
Portions of this church were originally built by freed slaves on nearby Broadfield (now Hofwyl-Broadfield) Plantation in the late 1870s, where it was known as Broadfield Baptist Church. It was removed to this location and took on its present appearance in 1885. It’s one of the most important remaining African-American vernacular churches in Georgia and a familiar landmark to travelers along U.S. Highway 17. It’s just south of the McIntosh County line.
This tabby revival structure is one of the most historic on the Georgia coast. In his thesis Tabby: The Enduring Building Material of Coastal Georgia (Athens, 2011), preservationist Taylor Davis notes it is “one of the best examples of a historic tabby structure that is still being used as originally intended by the designers“. Whereas most people expect the rough look of present-day tabby, it was the fashion to smooth out the shells by the application of lime.
No specific date of construction is known, though the parish is 128 years old. Taylor Davis believes, however, that construction began on the site in 1874.
Read an excellent historical survey of Georgia tabby by Taylor Davis, here.
Brunswick Old Town Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
A historic marker outside the church reads:In 1838 a small Methodist Brunswick congregation was assigned to a preaching circuit by the Florida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They worshiped in various locations including the 1840 Glynn Academy schoolhouse before building their first church on this site in 1861. Federal troops occupied Brunswick in March 1862 and the town was evacuated. The church was inactive until 1865. The original wooden church was removed in 1904 and the cornerstone laid for the current structure on 15 September 1905. An educational annex, added in 1930, was damaged by fire and replaced in 1955. An addition to the annex was completed in 1960. The interior of the sanctuary was remodeled and enlarged in 1968 and the welcome center was added in 2010.
Brunswick Old Town Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Architect G. W. Laine designed this magnificent Carpenter Gothic structure for Norman Dodge. It was repaired after the hurricane of 1897*. It was first known as Union Church and later home to St. James Episcopal. It was moved to its present location in 1911, after having fallen out of use. Reconsecrated by the Methodists in 1949, it was given the name Lovely Lane in honor of the 1774 church which was the site of the founding conference of Methodism in Baltimore in 1784. It’s used for baptisms, weddings, worship and meditation today, by locals and visitors who come to Epworth By The Sea from all over the world.
*- I believe this may actually have been the Hurricane of 1898, which made major impact in the area.
