St. Michael's Church - The Steeple Over Broad Street

A stop on Charleston Historic District Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Look up at the tall white steeple of St. Michael's, a landmark for sailors and townspeople since the 1750s. Built between 1751 and 1761, it is the oldest surviving church building in Charleston. No one knows for certain who designed it, but its columned portico and tiered steeple echo St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, a model for many colonial churches.

St. Michael's was the parish church of the colony's wealthy elite, many of whom owned plantations and enslaved people. George Washington worshipped here during his 1791 visit, seated in pew number 43. The churchyard holds the graves of two signers of the U.S. Constitution, among them John Rutledge.

The bells in the steeple were cast in London in 1764 and have crossed the Atlantic more than once since then to be repaired and recast. Listen for the tower clock striking the hours and quarters. If the church is open, step in to see the high box pews; if not, walk along the iron fence and peek into the churchyard.

Getting here: Leave the garden at its north side and walk north on Meeting Street, past some of the city's finest old houses, about 600 meters (a third of a mile) to the corner of Broad Street.

Did you know?: The 1764 bells were cast by Lester and Pack of London, the same foundry that made Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.

Photo op: Step across Meeting Street and shoot vertically to fit the whole steeple, from the portico to the weathervane.

More on Wikipedia: St. Michael's Anglican Church · John Rutledge · Liberty Bell

St. Michael's Church - The Steeple Over Broad Street

Stops on this tour