What A Fellowship: A Meditation on the Old Hebron Church
This map touches on the many uses and historic preservation of the historic Old Hebron Presbyterian Church on John's Island.
From the inside out: Origins of the Hebron Presbyterian Church
It is the oldest Black Church on Johns Island and was organized in 1865 by Reverend Ishmael Moultrie who served from 1865-1870.
Where is Old Hebron Church?
The church location and building has moved many times over the years. Originally as a bush tent church it was 500 ft from Gregg Plantation. The congregation has met in both a wood and brick church over the years. In the 1990s the church congregation of Hebron Presbyterian and Zion Presbyterian merged together and formed the Hebron-Zion Presbyterian Church.
Material Origins
Remains of burnt steamers & sailing vessels on the Rappahanock [sic].
Stone blockade off Charleston
Destruction of Housatonic by a rebel torpedo. Feb. of 17 1864. Charleston
Since the beginning of slavery, skilled craftspeople were central to the institution. Two formerly enslaved carpenters Jackson McGill and John Chisolm worked tirelessly on the design of the church and erected the building in less than 3 years. The materials used for the first building were reclaimed lumber found floating on Kiawah and Seabrook Beaches from a shipwreck. Church members gathered the materials, put together on a raft and floated to Mullet Hall and Hopes Plantation, hauled to the present location by oxen, cart, and horse. While waiting for the church building completion members met in a bush tent until April of 1870 when the building was complete.
Welcome to the Hebron St. Francis Center
In 1980 Franciscan nuns and community members helped to convert the Old Hebron Church into the Hebron St. Francis Center for Senior Citizens. Members and neighbors from Johns Island attended regularly in the church in 1989 when a hurricane made the building unsafe to stay in. The Center moved to another location and continued until 1993.
Song has always been here.
The Hebron St. Francis Center was a collaboration with Catholic Church and Presbyterian Church. Sisters Irene Kelly and Sister Bernadine Jax worked with Rev. J.H. Washington.
The changing of the front entrance
From steps to ramp to steps and ramps
Johns Island Preservation Field School 2024
For three weeks 10 cohort members from around the country and generations grappled with the implications of Historic Preservation and Black History and Culture.
The Choir Stand
The Saving of the Ox-Blood Paint
A deep shade of red with hints of brown and purple, dating back as early as the 1690s. Often associated with luxury, power, and sophistication. Originally used with oxblood.
Lay your Burdens Down: The Vestibule
This photo shows the remains of when the entrance of the church held a partition between the street, the road, and the church. This space allowed for congregants to transition from the outside stressors and problems of the their lives. A physical division from the outside world to the spiritual communal world.
In the House of the Lord: Markers of the Past
In observing the present condition of the church in May/June of 2024 clues of how the church was used before becoming the Hebron St. Francis Center. This video shows the semi-circle imprint of where the pulpit was.
Measured Drawings of Old Hebron Through Time
Our cohort broke up into groups to gathering measurements of the front elevation, side elevation, and interior details. Described as clapboard.
