Enslaved people built the Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island in 1855 as a place of worship for white planters, several of whom are buried in the small cemetery next to the sanctuary. Fingerprints of the enslaved who made the bricks can still be seen in some of the walls. After the Union Army liberated the sea islands, the church became a haven for enslaved people, and, in 1862, Laura Towne and Ellen Murray established what became the Penn School in this sanctuary. |
Last updated: October 17, 2019