The first church, built on this site in 1757, was burned by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Sheldon Church was built from the remains but met a similar fate during the Civil War. Sherman’s soldiers may have burned the church or area residents may have taken what they needed for their houses. Whatever happened it was just a shell by 1866. The site is always opened and visitors are free to wander the grounds.
There’s a piece of wood to serve as a ramp going from the road to the church grounds then there’s a short step down after going up the ramp. The site is not really accessible but can be managed with help. The ground is uneven with roots. The church can be seen without exiting your vehicle by parking in the pullout for the historical sign.
A large parking area is located on the opposite side of the road. There’s enough room for any RV combination to enter and easily turn around. Ruins
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The ruins are very impressive and one can only imagine how the Church looked like before it was ruined.
ReplyDeleteMost of the "old" buildings in Israel are made from stone and not wood so they preserve longer.
Your buildings are a little older than ours -lol!
DeleteI couldn't find very much information on the church but apparently it was built by the neighboring plantation owner using slave labor, as were most of the plantation houses and other buildings in the south. Very impressive craftsmanship!
Beautiful picture. We might decide to go there when we return home from Florida in spring.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely stop! It's not far off of the interstate and, unlike a lot of roadside historic sites, there's plenty of parking. Have a safe trip to Florida!
DeleteWe spent the night in the parking lot and took some more photographs with morning light. Totally different atmosphere. It's hard to take a bad photo of the ruins!
ReplyDeleteCatching up on blogs, super neat looking ruins. We miss this even though we pass near here many times. Next trip north we will try to stop here. Any problem staying overnight?
ReplyDeleteNo problems at all. We looked for signs prohibiting overnight parking, didn't see any so we went for it. The road is well traveled during the day but it gets quiet at night - very peaceful although there have been reports of ghosts at the ruins. :-D
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