Guided tours are again available for the Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness, 1905 Greenville Highway, in Flat Rock. These free, guided tours will be held the first and third Saturdays June-September and every third Saturday March-December. The tour for July 6 begins at 11 a.m. and will last about one hour.
Tours of the church and churchyard, or cemetery — which contain graves of enslaved people — are sponsored by the St. John Episcopal Church Docents. They start inside the Carriage Door entrance of the church, according to a news statement from the church.
“Once again this year we are pleased to share with our neighbors and visitors the history of this holy place that has seen its share of joys and sorrows," Docent leader E.R. Haire Jr., said in the news release.
"We share our history, even the painful parts, so that as we reflect upon our past we will be better able to be more faithful as we move forward into the future. We are continuing to make and build our history, and we seek to be a welcoming place for all who might wish to add to it.”
The historically significant churchyard contains graves of unnamed 19th century people who were enslaved as well as political figures and local residents.
Church history
In 1827, Charles Baring, a member of the Baring banking family of England, built a home in Flat Rock. He and his wife, Susan, wanted a summer place to escape the oppressive heat, humidity and malaria of the South Carolina Lowcountry where they lived.
The Barings built a chapel on the property of their newly constructed home. Soon after it was built the small wooden structure burned down in a woods fire. In 1833 work began on a second church built of handmade brick.
In August of 1836 the Barings deeded their chapel to the Diocese of North Carolina and 20 members of the Flat Rock “summer colony” formed an Episcopal parish. In the 1890s when the Missionary District of Asheville (later Diocese of Western North Carolina) was formed, St. John in the Wilderness transferred its affiliation. It is the oldest parish in the diocese.
With almost all the church members traveling back to the Lowcountry after the summer season, the church mainly operated during summer months for its first 120 years. So rapid was the growth of the Flat Rock community during the 1830s and 1840s that the parish membership outgrew the capacity of the small chapel. In the early 1850s the decision was made to rebuild the church, essentially doubling its size. With only a few minor modifications the structure was completed in 1852. It is the one that stands today.
The tours are free but advance reservations must be made at stjohnflatrock.org/tours. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes. There will be no rain dates. For more information call 828-693-9783.
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