Site of the First Methodist Church
In Charleston
1785
Established in 1785 under the leadership
of Bishop Francis Asbury, the first Methodist
Society in Charleston purchased a lot in
Cumberland Street and erected a church
here in 1786. Long known as the Blue Meeting
House because of its color and to distinguish
it from the White Meeting House (now Circular
Church) on Meeting Street, the wooden
structure was the site of the first annual
conference in South Carolina. It met in 1787
and was presided over by Bishops Thomas Coke
and Asbury.
The church had seperate seating for white,
free black, and enslaved African members.
The early Methodists were persecuted for their
stand against slavery. Cumberland Street
Church was enlarged in 1806 but destroyed in
the Charleston fire of 1838. Rebuilt of brick, it
was destroyed a second time in the Great Fire
of 1861. In 1874 the congregation united with
Trinity Methodist Church (then located on
Hasell Street) and this property was sold.
Cumberland Street
Marker is on Cumberland Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
