St. John in the Wilderness | |
 St. John in the Wilderness in 1934 | |
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| Location | Flat Rock, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates | 35°16′56.8″N82°26′34.2″W / 35.282444°N 82.442833°W /35.282444; -82.442833 |
| Part of | Flat Rock Historic District (ID73001352[1]) |
St. John in the Wilderness (also known asSt. John-in-the-Wilderness) is a historic church and cemetery inFlat Rock, North Carolina. It was the firstEpiscopal Church in WesternNorth Carolina.
A building from the 1850s is a contributing structure toFlat Rock Historic District, which is on theNational Register of Historic Places.[2]
It wasconsecrated by BishopLevi Silliman Ives on August 28, 1836. Charles and Susan Baring, who consideredCharleston, South Carolina too hot in the summer, were among the first settlers of Flat Rock in the 1820s. Other people moved from Charleston to Flat Rock, which Bishop Ives called a "new but interesting settlement" in 1837. The church started as a private chapel for the Barings, who later transferred the title to Bishop Ives and theEpiscopal Diocese of North Carolina. 20 members "formed themselves into a congregation".[3]
St. John, named forJohn the Baptist, was unusual in that white people andslaves sat together in church. The first wedding performed in St. John's was between two slaves. Later, slaves and free blacks were buried in the church's cemetery.[4]
Before 1958, St. John's did not have enough members to stay open year-round, but the number of members has increased to 400. The church building was renovated in 2004.[4]
