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![[photo] [photo]](buildings/mat1.jpg)
St. Matthias Episcopal
Church
Photo courtesy of City
Development, City of Asheville, North Carolina |
St. Matthias Episcopal Church stands at the top of a steep hill in an area of central
Asheville known locally as "East End," one of the oldest neighborhoods
developed by African Americans in the city. Reverend Jarvis Buxton,
a noted Episcopal rector who organized the first Episcopal congregation
for free blacks in North Carolina in 1832, founded the original Trinity
Chapel in Asheville for newly freed slaves in 1865. By 1896, the church
outgrew the small chapel and St. Matthias was built to accommodate the
growing congregation. Today, the church continues to serve as the place
of worship for St. Matthias parishioners.
The church is a Gothic-style building constructed in a cruciform plan
with a gable roof nave. The brick walls are laid with a darker shade
of headers presenting a horizontal texture to the building's surface
on every face. The nave is four bays deep with the division of each
bay marked by buttresses. Centered on each bay is a lancet arch window
on a stone sill, topped by a brick hoodmold. The church interior contains
a rich display of well maintained dark woodwork fashioned in various
Gothic motifs. The walls are white plaster over a wainscot of narrow
vertical sheathing. The roof is supported by a heavy timber truss system,
incorporating collar beams and braces. Sawn ornamental cusping is inserted
between the framing members and the ceiling is a dark wood sheathing.
The pulpit, lectern, altar and other furnishings are all original to
the church and are decorated with trefoil arch panels, quatrefoil incisions
and other Gothic elements. The interior woodwork is considered to be
the most sophisticated of any church in the area built during the latter
part of the 19th century.
St. Matthias Episcopal Church is located at One Dundee St. near
the intersection of Grail St. on a prominent hill east of S. Charlotte
St. in Asheville. Tours are available and can be arranged by calling
828-285-0033.
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