The Friends of the Aiken County Historical Museum are partnering with five of Aiken’s historic houses of worship to open their doors to the public. From noon to 5 pm on Friday, December 12, the following sites will take part in a Historic Houses of Worship Tour: the Adath Yeshurun Synagogue (154 Greenville Street NW), old St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church (203 Park Avenue SE), St. John’s Methodist Church (104 Newberry Street NW), St. Gerard Roman Catholic Church (640 Edrie Street NE), and St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church (125 Pendleton Street SW). These five sites will welcome visitors to explore their sites and learn tidbits of history about their organizations.
Here are a couple of historical facts about the participating sites:
1. The Adath Yeshurun Synagogue was completed in 1925. That same synagogue is the one used to today and it houses three 100-year-old Torahs.
2. St. Gerard Catholic Church began as a mission to Black Catholics in the Aiken area during segregation. Redemptorist priests assigned to St. Mary Help of Christians led the mission and were supported by the Oblate Sisters out of Orangeburg, South Carolina. While the original church and school were located on York Street, St. Gerard’s current church was built in 1979 at 640 Edrie Street.
3. St. John’s Methodist Church is one of the oldest of Aiken’s religious institutions with records of a Methodist community dating to before 1839.
4. Saint Mary Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church’s first building was built on Park Avenue in 1867. After its destruction by a tornado in 1878, it was replaced by the small Saint Clare Chapel which is a chapel for perpetual adoration today.
5. St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church was built by 1842 on land donated by the railroad company. The church was enlarged in 1926, but the essential character of the original 1842 church is still present today.
There is an optional lecture at 11 am at the Aiken County Historical Museum by local historian Linda Johnson. She will give a 30-minute presentation on the development of the city of Aiken in regard to its religious sites.
Tickets are $10/person for Friends of the ACHM members and $15/person for non-Friends members. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ACHMFriends.org. All proceeds benefit the Aiken County Historical Museum.
Be sure to pick up your physical tour tickets at the Aiken County Historical Museum between 10 am and 2 pm on Friday, December 12th. These tickets will have special notes and restrictions about each site. You will also need to present this ticket at each site to gain entry.
You may also like the following events from Aiken County Historical Museum:
Also check out other
Nonprofit events in Aiken.
