Woodrow Memorial Presbyterian Church
National Register Listing
Street Address:
2221 Washington St., Columbia, SC (Richland County)
Alternate Name:
Bishop's Memorial A.M.E. Church
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817740034
Description and Narrative:
(Bishop’s Memorial A.M.E Church) The Bishop’s Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church was constructed in 1907-1908 as the Woodrow Memorial Presbyterian Church. The church was built under the aegis of Columbia’s First Presbyterian Church as a memorial to Dr. James Woodrow (1828-1907), an important figure in Columbia’s religious and educational life. Woodrow was a professor at the Columbia (Presbyterian) Theological Seminary whose stand in favor of teaching evolution at the seminary caused a major upheaval in the Presbyterian Church of the United States in the 1880s. Debates before state synods resulted in a request for his resignation as a professor of natural sciences. In 1886 after Woodrow’s refusal to resign, the denomination’s General Assembly voted to dismiss him. Following the loss of this teaching position, Woodrow became President of the Central National Bank of Columbia until 1891 when he was appointed President of South Carolina College (later University of South Carolina). Woodrow Memorial Church served as a Presbyterian congregation until about 1924. In 1929, due to the growing African American population in the Waverly section of Columbia, the church became the Salters Memorial A.M.E. Church and in 1943 the name was changed to Bishop’s Memorial A.M.E. Church. Architecturally significant, the church is a well-built early twentieth century brick structure notable for the refined proportions of its interior detailing, and its exterior entablature and apsidal end. Listed in the National Register March 2, 1979.
Period of Significance:
1907 – 1908
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Commerce
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
March 2 1979
