Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Prince Frederick's

Prince Frederick's Chapel, Plantersville, S.C.

It is so much fun to come across a neat new find in the swamp. I found a picture of Prince Frederick's Chapel on the SCIWay site and then Pamela at Dum Spiro Spero was kind enough to help out with directions. It was a tricky day with bright contrasty light but what a great find.

(Prince Frederick’s Episcopal Church) Begun in 1859 and completed in 1876, Prince Frederick’s Chapel played a vital role in the religious life of the Pee Dee settlers in the latter half of the 19th century. With the decline of the rice economy, parishioners migrated to the more densely populated urban areas and the church suffered from lack of maintenance. The ruins of the chapel are all that remain of what once was a striking example of Gothic Revival architecture in South Carolina. Although the buttresses and pinnacles place it in the mainstream of Gothic architecture, the rounded arches, purity of design, and understated decorative elements exhibit a feeling for classical forms. The body of the church, declared unsafe and destroyed in 1966, was originally rectangular in plan and had four narrow arched windows on the side elevations. The only portion which remains today is the west façade with the steeple tower. The tower is divided into three sections. Adjacent to the church grounds is a cemetery which includes numerous examples of 19th century grave markers.