Top 10 Best Features of Second Presbyterian

At Second Presbyterian Church there are so many great features, it was hard to narrow it down to 10 but we did. This is the last group post for our Beyond the Grave class, Jeffery Jones, Graham Herndon and I put together our top 10 favorite features this church and graveyard gave to offer.

Starting with number 10, we have.....

10. The Layout

This angle is on the walkway that runs
parallel to the church just after walking in

This graveyard is on the smaller side, however, there are so many people buried here. They are nice walkways to walk on, but get a closer look at someone's marker you may have to walk over someone else. Most of the grave sties are to the left, when facing the front of the church, as well as behind it. There are not many on the right side due to the sidewalk and road. There are several sections where multiple grave sites are fenced together, these are some of the family plots. Overall, the layout has a nice flow to it and when you get to the back of the church it seems to open up and feel bigger.

This section is to the left side when
facing the church

This section is also on the left side
of the church

As you can see from these pictures, the grave sites are pretty close together. This does not necessarily mean they are related, as more people are buried there becomes less room for everyone to be spread out.

This section is also on the left side
of the church, looking toward the back
portion of the graveyard

This section is on the back side
of the church

9. The Trees


There are several trees located in this graveyard, it give shade to most of the grave sites. The trees are so beautiful, most of them are very tall and have lots of over hang. We noticed some of the markers were right next to a tree and even one that had been shifted due to the way the tree grew, unfortunately we did not get pictures of these. There was one tree we thought was the best because it was so big and it happened to be right in the middle of a section of grave sites. Below is the same tree from different angles.

























8. The Location and Walkway

We originally picked Second Presbyterian because it was very close to campus and easy to walk to. As we were making our list we thought the location should be on our list because it has made all our group posts easier to meet up. It is very close to so many things such as, Marion Square, King Street, hotels (if you are visiting from out of town), parking and more. There are many walk ways to the church, for instance, the walk way from Meeting Street, and Charlotte Street. Both are nice, however, we really liked the walk way from Meeting Street because it is lined with  beautiful trees and almost feel park like.

7. The Family Plots

As mentioned above, there are many family plots in the graveyard. We thought they were interesting because they were prominent names in Charleston, like the Adgers, that had plots. We found it interesting that many of the family members were buried in the plots, however, there were also some that were not buried in the plot, this is most likely due to the expansion of the family over many generations. We found members of the Adger family all over the graveyard as well as many of the Smyths and the Smythes. The Smyths were buried in the same area, but it was not marked off like the Adger family below. These families were very active in this church and it shows with the number of them buried in the graveyard.

Adger Family Plot to the left and another family plot to the right

This is the far right column when facing the church

6. The Columns

On one of the columns at the front of the church has a portion of the of the underlying brick showing. The columns were originally brick that might have been covered in stucco to mimic a newer style that had emerged. We thought this was interesting because it allows you to see what the history of the church used to be and we think it is nice that they did not try to repair it because that would lose the history for those that do not know and it also shows the age of the church.






5. The Big One

When we first went to the graveyard we saw this huge marker. We have already talked about this marker in our post "Second Pres is First Best" but it is to amazing we had to share it again. This is the marker for, again with the Adgers, James Adger, II and his wife Sarah Elizabeth, they got married in 1806 and had 9 children together. At one point James was the richest man in the United States, hence his BIG grave marker. 

4. The Stained Glass

We had communicated with Suzann Lilienthal, an administrator at Second Presbyterian, about seeing the inside of the church and we were amazed when she took us inside. The first thing that stood to us was the stained glass, it is very stunning, has lots of color and many symbols within. We thought it was very eye catching when we first walked in. 

3. The Bell Tower



The church was intended to have a steeple, however, it was never completed due to structural issues and costs. A square tower was added instead. After talking with Suzann Lilienthal, she said that you can go up to the bell tower and you can see a lot of the city. We did not get a chance to go up, but we thought it would be so amazing to see that view if we get a chance in the future. When we saw the bell tower, we thought it was interesting that there was not a steeple but now knowing you can get a great view of the city makes it a fascinating feature.
  







2. The Front Doors

We were able to learn from Suzann Lilienthal that the front doors of the church are the original doors. We thought this was amazing because the doors are over 200 years old and they are still in great condition. She said they are very heavy, which we imagined because they are so huge. When walking to the front of the church, the doors are so astounding.

1. Pastors Buried in the Church

When we were looking around inside the church we noticed what looked like two grave markers in the middle of the isle. These are the grave sites for the first and third pastors of Second Presbyterian. Suzann Lilienthal said many people will walk around them as a courtesy but it is fine to walk over them, during weddings the brides will walk over them and it is not an issue. We all walked around them during our visit.

When we asked about the second pastor, she said he was buried at another located and she was not really sure why. This was our number 1 choice because not many churches have their pastors buried in the isle. We also wondered how they were buried there, was it where they choose to be buried before they passed or was it a way of honoring the ones who help start the church?


Some honorable mentions






The Organs

In the balcony we saw the organs and thought they were just beautiful.













The Design over the Stained Glass

The design on the wall over the stained glass is so detailed and just adds to the beauty of the church.

First view inside the church

For more history and other information on Second Presbyterian, check out some other posts!