St. Paul's Church - Exterior

Established in 1763, this fieldstone and brick church served both the American and British armies as a Revolutionary War field hospital. It has facilitated the spiritual lives of generations of local residents as an Episcopal house of worship until 1980.

Western Side

The simple, Georgian, vernacular style church was constructed as a community project utilizing local field-stone and brick, with the keystone, 1765, still visible over the door.
 

Symbology

The completion date of 1788, with initials of the chief mason, **CP**, can often be observed in the afternoon, depending on the light. Rows of unfilled scaffold holes remain from the 18th century. According to local tradition, **LV**, diagonally up from the keystone, represents Louis Vincent, a prominent parishioner who helped to save the bell at the start of the Revolutionary War. Increased wealth and a religious shift toward greater displays of symbols of Christianity led to the erection of the Victorian steeple in 1887. The copper cross replaced an earlier religious symbol knocked off by a hurricane in the early 1950s.