Wesley, John, Methodist Episcopal Church
National Register Listing
Street Address:
101 E. Court St., Greenville, SC (Greenville County)
Alternate Name:
Wesley, John, United Methodist Church
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817723014
Description and Narrative:
Built between 1899 and 1903, the church is a two-story structure of brick laid in standard bond, a vernacular version of the Gothic Revival style of church architecture. The style is characterized here by irregular massing, regular fenestration with emphasis on pointed arch windows with tracery, pinnacles and other decorative motifs on accent points (such as the tower), gables and steeply sloping roofs, large major interior space with emphasized height, beaded ceilings and wainscoting, wooden floors, and stained glass ornamentation. After the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal Church sent preachers and teachers to work among freedmen in the South. At a meeting in Charleston, it was decided to establish a congregation in Greenville, and in 1866 John Wesley’s congregation was organized by the Rev. J.R. Rosemond under the name of Silver Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. Initially, the congregation met in a building owned by a white congregation, but after voting to affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal Church, North, rather than the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the congregation acquired a log building on Ann Street. Alexander McBee subsequently donated a lot at Choice and Cleveland Streets, where a structure was built and occupied by the congregation until 1900. The foundations of the present structure, at East Court and Falls Streets, were laid in 1899 and the sanctuary was dedicated in 1903. Listed in the National Register January 20, 1978.
Period of Significance:
1899 – 1903
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Religion;Other
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
January 20 1978
