Pompion Hill Chapel

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Pompion Hill Chapel, erected in 1763-65, is a miniature Georgian masterpiece, original and unaltered. The chapel, built on a typical rectangular plan, is probably the finest and best preserved of South Carolina’s numerous small, eighteenth-century, country parish, brick churches. The quality of its design and workmanship are superb and the fabric, including the interior woodwork, is original.

The first Anglican church outside of Charleston was built in 1703 on Pompion Hill. In 1706 the Church of England became the established church in South Carolina and nine parishes were laid off, of which St. Thomas’ Parish, containing the 1703 wooden church, was one. By 1762 the 30 foot-square cypress church was in ruinous condition and it was decided to replace it with a brick church. Construction on the existing church began in 1763 and was completed in 1765. The cost was 570 pounds, of which 200 pounds was provided by the province. The brick, and probably the design for the new church, were provided by Zachariah Villepontour, a noted brick maker with kilns at his Paranassus Plantation on the Black River. The master mason was William Axson; the initials of both of these men are carved into the walls of the chapel.