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St. David's Church in Cheraw

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

“S” is for St. David's Church in Cheraw. St. David's Parish was established in 1768 and construction on the parish church—known locally as “Old St. David's”--began in the 1770s. Although similar to other colonial Anglican churches, the frame building was less ornate. During the Revolution, the British used the church as a hospital. After the war, there was no resident clergyman and the building fell into disuse. In 1819, an Episcopal clergyman helped revive the congregation and the structure was enlarged and a steeple added. A century later, the congregation completed a new sanctuary in downtown Cheraw and the old church building was used only sporadically. In the 1970s the congregation gave “Old St. David's” Church to the Chesterfield County Historic Preservation Commission, which restored the building to its early nineteenth-century appearance.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.