Tag: German Lutheran Church (Charleston SC)

One of the Sister Churches, along with the Unitarian Church, on Archdale Street.

Wikipedia says: The Lutheran congregation’s first church building was a classical Greek Revival structure on the northwest corner of Hasell and Anson Streets. The architect was Edward Brickell White, and it was dedicated on June 22, 1842. The cost for the land and construction by John Dawson was $11,000.

In 1856, the church purchased Bethany Cemetery because the first cemetery was full. There were several additional yellow fever outbreaks during the early years of the congregation. According to church records, there were 147 deaths in 1854, 308 in 1858, and 130 in 1865, of which 84 were children. During the worst outbreaks, Pastor Ludwig “Louis” Müller officiated at three funerals every day.

During the American Civil War, only the sanctuary windows and some furnishings were damaged during the Siege of Charleston. By 1860, Germans represented 5% of the Charleston population. The congregation had outgrown the original sanctuary by 1868 when 40 applications for pews could not be filled. In 1878 the sanctuary was sold to a group of 53 Lutherans who formed the German Evangelical Lutheran St. Johannes Church.