"S" is for St. James-Santee Parish

"S" is for St. James-Santee Parish. The parish of Saint James-Santee was established in 1706 and included the Northwestern portions of modern Berkeley and Charleston Counties. The earliest Europeans in the area were Huguenots. In 1706 the French and English settlers of the area petitioned the commons house for parish status. Because of the language barrier within the congregation of the parish church, for decades St. James-Santee required a bilingual clergyman who could speak to the congregation and both French and English. The present church built in 1768 is located near present-day McClellanville and is known locally as the Brick Church. By the 18th century, rice and indigo poured streams of wealth into the pockets of the French planters. With the abolition of the parish system in 1865, St. James-Santee Parish became a part of Berkeley County.