Wesley Methodist Church - Columbia, South Carolina
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 34° 00.263 W 081° 01.449
17S E 497769 N 3762642
Marker for historic African-American Methodist Church in Columbia, South Carolina.
Waymark Code: WMGTKK
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 04/08/2013
Views: 4
From historic marker:
40 146
Wesley Methodist Church
Wesley Methodist Church is the oldest African American Methodist congregation in Columbia. It was founded in 1869 by Rev. J.C. Emerson and was a separate black congregation instead of forming from an established white church. First Called the Columbia Mission, it met upstairs in a Main St. building and later built its own chapel. About 1910 the Columbia Mission bought this lot and was renamed Wesley Methodist Episcopal church.
This Gothic Revival church, built in 1910-11, was designed by noted Columbia architect Arthur W. Hamby, who designed other churches in Columbia as well as in Winnsboro, Bishopville, and St. Matthews. Its high style Late Gothic design is relatively unusual for an African-American church of its period, and is notable for its two asymmetrical towers, decorative brickwork, and pointed-arch stained glass windows.
The church continues as an active church with two services each Sunday at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.