The Church of the Cross

From Old Town Bluffton Inn

By Car	3 Minutes
By Walk	11 Minutes

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Details

Address	110 Calhoun Street, Bluffton, SC 29910
Phone	+1 843-757-2661
Website	thechurchofthecross.net
Hours	Sun: 8–11:30 AM Mon: 11 AM–2 PM Tues: 11 AM–2 PM Thurs: 11 AM–2 PM Fri: Closed Sat: 5:28–6:30 PM

Photo by @jo_greatoutdoors via @explorebluffton

At the bottom of Calhoun Street, where the road runs out and the May River begins, there is a small wooden church that the Union army decided not to burn. It has stood on that bluff since 1857. It is free to visit, and it is eleven minutes from our front door.

You come down Calhoun with the oaks closing overhead, and then the trees open, and there it is: dark heart pine against the water, sitting on the high ground above the May. The Church of the Cross was built between 1854 and 1857 to a design by the Charleston architect Edward Brickell White, and it is Carpenter Gothic, which is what happens when Gothic ideas meant for stone get made in wood by people who work in wood. Steep gables, pointed windows, exposed timber inside, none of it painted or plastered over. On June 4, 1863, Union troops burned most of Bluffton to the ground. This building was one of the few left standing, and the reasons have been debated ever since. It was listed on the National Register in 1975, and it remains a working parish rather than a preserved shell, which is the important thing. There are services here on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings, and the bell still tolls at eight and ten.

Photo by @tcotcbluffton

Go inside if you can, because the interior is the point, and photographs of the outside do not prepare you for it. Docents are on site Monday through Thursday, 11 AM to 2 PM, and they will walk you round and tell you things you would never get from a plaque. Ask about the bees. Until the early 1990s, a colony lived inside the north wall of the church, and when a new copper roof went on in 1991, a beekeeper had to evict what turned out to be 48 colonies. The honey from the walls was sold to raise money for the church, and they still sell Holy Honey today, now supplied by a local beekeeper, during those same docent hours. Two practical things. Call ahead on 843-757-2661, because docent hours get canceled for funerals and special services, and there is nothing worse than walking down there for a locked door. And the grounds and the graveyard above the river are open whether or not the church is, so the walk is never wasted.

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Old Town Bluffton Inn

Amenities

High Speed Wifi
L'Occitane en Provence
Hair Dryers
Steamer/Iron Combo
Bath Robes and Slippers*
In-Room Safe
55in Standard TV
Alarm Clock with Outlets
White Noise Machine

*Upon Request

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Photo by @lowcountry_wanderer via @explorebluffton

Why Visit

This is the image Bluffton puts on its postcards, and unlike most postcard buildings, you can walk to it in eleven minutes, go inside for free, and have somebody tell you the story.

A rare surviving antebellum church, built 1854 to 1857 and one of the few buildings left standing when Bluffton burned in June 1863, on the National Register since 1975
Carpenter Gothic architecture by Charleston's Edward Brickell White, with unpainted heart pine inside that most visitors are not expecting after seeing the outside in photographs
Free guided tours from docents who know the building properly, Monday through Thursday between 11 and 2, with no ticket and no booking beyond a phone call
The single best view in Old Town, from the bluff and the old graveyard looking out over the May River, and it is there whether the church is open or not
Holy Honey, sold at the church during docent hours, with a genuinely good story behind it involving 48 colonies of bees and a copper roof
A working parish rather than a museum piece, so you can attend a service on Saturday evening or Sunday morning if you would rather see it in use than tour it

Message from the Harrisons

Ask a docent about the bees when you visit. It is the one story here you cannot get off a plaque, and they will tell it far better than we can.

Vince and Danielle Harrison

Best Time To Visit

The grounds are open year-round, and the walk down Calhoun is worth doing in any month, so the season changes the visit rather than deciding it. Spring is the prettiest, with the azaleas out and the light coming through new leaves onto the water. Summer is hot by mid-morning, but the bluff catches whatever breeze is going, and the church interior is a cool, quiet place to be in the middle of a July afternoon. Fall is our own favorite, when the humidity lifts and the low gold light hits the timber and the river at the same time. Winter thins the crowds right out, and the building looks its most severe and its best, and the Christmas services in a candlelit wooden church from the 1850s are something else entirely. Docent hours and service times shift around the calendar, so check the church's site or call before you go.

Getting There

It is about eleven minutes from our front door, straight down Calhoun Street to where the road ends at the water, and you will pass most of Old Town's galleries and shops on the way. Parking down there is limited, and there is no reason to drive.

Hours and Admission

It's free! Docent-led tours run Monday through Thursday, 11 AM to 2 PM, and the church asks you to call 843-757-2661 first, since those hours are dropped for funerals and special services. Services at the historic campus are Saturdays at 5:28 PM and Sundays at 8 and 10 AM, with Morning Prayer on Thursdays at 9. The grounds are open outside of those times.

Insider Tip

Go late in the day even if the church is shut. The sun drops behind the trees across the water and the whole bluff turns gold, which is when the view from the graveyard is at its best. Then walk back up Calhoun for dinner.

Good to Know

It is an active place of worship, so dress and behave accordingly, and photography inside is a matter of asking rather than assuming. Services are not tours. If you want the building explained to you, come on a weekday between 11 and 2 instead. Holy Honey is sold during docent hours and at the parish offices on Buckwalter Parkway.

Don't Miss

The interior timber, which is the whole reason to time your visit for docent hours rather than just photographing the outside. Then the graveyard and the bluff behind the church, where the ground drops away to the May River.

A Day in Old Town

Coffee & Breakfast

9:00 AM

Breakfast is on at the Inn, and Corner Perk is a minute out the door for a second cup to carry. Nothing opens before ten, so take it slowly. When you are ready, pick up Danielle's Stroll, a hand-drawn map of Old Town, at the front desk and head down Boundary Street to the Heyward House. The tour there is the shortest way to understand why the rest of the day looks the way it does.

Calhoun Street

10:00 AM

Follow Calhoun down toward the river, in and out of the galleries as you go. The Society of Bluffton Artists, Maye River, and Red Piano are all along the way. Finish at the Church of the Cross and give yourself ten minutes on the bluff.

Lunch in Old Town

12:00 PM

Everything is within a few blocks. The Cottage for something light in the tea room, or Captain Woody's and Bluffton BBQ if the morning has made you hungry, though Bluffton BBQ only opens Wednesday through Saturday.

The Oyster Factory Waterfront

1:30 PM

Walk west to Oyster Factory Park, where the Bluffton Oyster Company has been at it for generations, and stop at the Garvin-Garvey Freedman's Cottage next door.

Shops and the Wine Bar

3:30 PM

Wander back through the Promenade and into the Old Town shops and boutiques. If it is a Thursday, the farmers market is on and you will not get through it quickly. Then back to the Inn for the complimentary afternoon wine, a chair in the parlor or out on the balcony, and Camo doing his rounds.

Dinner Around the Corner

5:30 PM

More than twenty restaurants within walking distance of your room. Nobody drives, nobody is the designated driver, and the day ends the way it started: on foot in Old Town.

FAQ

Yes. There is no admission charge to tour the interior or walk the grounds. They only ask that you call ahead if you want to go inside.

No reservation, but call 843-757-2661 first. Docent tours run Monday through Thursday, 11 AM to 2 PM, and those hours are suspended for funerals and special services.

About an eleven-minute walk, straight down Calhoun Street to the water. Parking is limited, so leave the car at the Inn.

Yes, during docent hours, Monday through Thursday, from 11 to 2. The unpainted heart pine interior is the real reason to visit. Outside those hours, the grounds and riverside graveyard stay open.

Saturdays at 5:28 PM and Sundays at 8 and 10 AM, with Morning Prayer on Thursdays at 9. Services are for worship, not tours, so come on a weekday between 11 and 2 for the full history.

The church sells honey during docent hours and at the parish offices on Buckwalter Parkway. Until 1991, bees lived in the north wall, and workers evicted 48 colonies when they installed a new copper roof. The parish sells the honey to support the church.