Choose Charleston

A memorial service honoring the 9 Charleston firefighters who died Monday in the line of duty has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, June 22 at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The service in the coliseum will be broadcast live to the adjacent Exhibit Hall and Performing Arts Center due to the number of people expected to attend.

Firefighters from across the nation are expected to travel to Charleston to pay tribute to the 9 men.

Charleston has long been nicknamed “The Holy City.” Steeples are the preeminent feature of our skyline and no matter where you stand on the peninsula, a church is within ready walking distance.

Also contributing to the nickname is the fact that older parts of the city retain a continental flavor. I’ve heard more than once of well-traveled folks choosing Charleston as a place to settle at the end of their wanderings because the ambiance is about as close to European as one is likely to find in the United States (New Orleans is sometimes cited as another option).

Plus, we’re polite as all get out.

Except, maybe, when we’re driving.

No walking tour of the historic district would be complete without pausing to appreciate several grand examples of our churches, including St. Philip’s, St. Michael’s, Circular Congregational, Congregation Beth Elohim, First (Scots) Presbyterian, and the Unitarian Church.

Burial grounds maintained by many of the churches offer walking paths where visitors may respectfully appreciate the local history of mortuary art. Students of History, Religion, or American Studies will find much to contemplate in the statuary and symbolism - from cherubs to death’s heads - to be found on grave markers from different eras.

In the heart of the peninsula of Charleston lies an intersection where more than just two roads diverge. As unique as the city itself, the Four Corners of Law encompass all aspects of the law, canonical, federal, state, and city. According to Ripley’s Believe It or Not, nowhere else does such a gathering exist. Starting today with God’s Law, we’ll explore each corner and meet some of the people from its history.

St. Michael’s Church (God’s Law)

A church has occupied this corner, nearly from the beginning of the city. The first church in the new Charles Towne was a small wooden building called St. Phillips. After moving to a larger facility on Church Street in 1727, as the town continued to grow, it was decided that another house of worship was needed. So, in 1757, construction began on a new church to occupy this corner.

Nine years later, the first services were held in the newly constructed St Michaels. No one is really sure who the architect was, but the style was very much like Sir Christopher Wren, generally used during our Colonial period and up to the Gothic revival in 1841. Little has changed over thye years, except for the addition of the sacristy in 1883, on the the south east corner. St. Michael’s is one of the few city churches in America that has retained its original design.

As unique as the city itself, the Four Corners of Law encompass all aspects of the law, canonical, federal, state, and city.

In 1764, the curch ordered a clock and ring of 8 bells for their tower. These were restored in 1993 and are thought to be the oldest functioning colonial tower clock in the country. The organ has undergone many changes since it’s construction in 1768 by Johan Snetzler. A pedal division was added by Henry Erban in 1869, and a new organ was constructed in 1910, using the original case and several of the original pipes. A new 40-stop, 51 rank tracker organ was installed by Kenneth Jones of Bray, Ireland to fit in and behind the original Snetzler case (which is thought to be the only surviving church organ-case by Snetzler made of mahogany).

The Cemetery

Buried in the adjoining cemetery are two signers of the US Constitution. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746 - 1825) was a lawyer and legislator, Major General in the US Army, Minister to France, and Presidential candidate. When Charleston fell to the British troops, he was taken prisoner and held until 1782. Although his proposal that senators serve without pay failed, he was still very influential at the Constitutional Convention.

John Rutledge (1739 - 1825) also a lawyer, and a statesman, served as governor of South Carolina and Chief Justice of the US. Brother of Edward Rutledge, he was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress, Continental Congress, and Constitutional Congress. He played a major role in drafting the constitution, then was a member of the SC Ratifying convention.