To spot the First Presbyterian Church, look straight ahead for a grand, pinkish-brick building with tall, arched stained-glass windows topped by an impressive spire that points dramatically into the sky.
Welcome to one of Columbia’s true storytellers in stone-First Presbyterian Church! Can you picture it? The year is 1854. The city is just a little quieter, but on this corner, generations of dreams echo in the brickwork and the soaring gothic arches. Before the church stood here, the congregation must’ve been a bit nomadic, meeting wherever they could-sometimes even inside the State House. Imagine the sigh of relief in 1813, when the South Carolina Legislature finally said, “Alright, you Presbyterians, you get your own place!”
But there’s a twist-this spot was actually a cemetery shared with the Episcopalians. You’d think they’d ‘plot’ out a dramatic battle, but legend says they simply drew lots. First Presbyterian landed here, at Lady and Marion Streets, probably thrilled and, at the same time, keeping a wary eye on the neighbors. The original building is still here, now called Jackson Hall-talk about good real estate.
Now, look up! The spire you see has had quite an adventure. The original shot up 180 feet but was toppled in an 1875 hurricane, rebuilt, roasted by fire in 1910, and rebuilt even taller-like the church was trying to get a better signal with the heavens.
As you stand here, you’re walking among legends. Woodrow Wilson’s parents are buried in the cemetery, and so is Henry William de Saussure, a director of the U.S. Mint, and Martha Thomas Fitzgerald, who broke new ground as the first woman elected in a general election to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Music swelled from a rebuilt organ loft after the 1925 expansion made more room for worshippers’ voices. Through all these storms, fires, and changes, First Presbyterian has stood tall, a witness to Columbia’s unfolding story, weathering both literal and political winds with a graceful, gothic grin. Now, who’s ready for the next chapter?
