Choose Charleston

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.