Strawberry Chapel and the Childsbury settlement
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
A town called Childsbury was established in the early 1700s It quickly dwindled out of existence, but left one piece behind, the Strawberry Chapel. The last standing piece of the Childsbury town, the chapel has had many owners, paranormal investigations, and church services. It can be toured and is used foe worship multiple times throughout the year.
Images
Modern day picture of the Strawberry Chapel and the near by grave yard.
Marker located on the street for travelers to notice the Chapel.
The Strawberry Chapel pictures in the 1800s.
James Child's ferry boat business transporting citizens.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Childsbury was one of the first towns created in the Carolina colony in 1707. Three hundred years later, only one piece of the town still stands. This is the Strawberry Chapel, a church made for the people of Childsbury to be able to worship easily without having to travel to a bigger near by city, as there were very few nearby churches because of the rural area. Strawberry Chapel was built with rectangular form with entrances on three walls, all aligned with each other for proper ventilation, as there was no air conditioning at the time. There is a bulls-eye-like window above the main entrance, making it Anglican-like. The words "Glory to God in the highest" are written on the rear wall, readable to all congregation from the pews.
The Harrison Family Vault was an underground tomb adjacent to the Chapel, reserved for the residents of Chilsbury town. The vault was originally reserved only for the Harrison family, and it was is where the people of the town of Childsbury were held after they died while their slot was prepared for burial. The cemetery was also located beside of the vault and the Chapel. There have been countless paranormal investigations of the vault and cemetery done over the last several years.
James Child gave over 600 acres for the creation of the town, enough land for farm land, schools, markets, and the chapel. He created the Strawberry ferry that ran down the Cooper River as transportation to Charleston for the people of Childsbury. The town was sadly short lived. As plantations rapidly grew more popular, the town rapidly grew smaller in population, and soon the town was brought down to nothing except for the Strawberry plantation owned by James Child and his son Issac. They built their home in the early 1800s. After going through multiple different owners, eventually the land was bought by a US Senator, Joseph S. Frelinghuyse who merged the land with the Rice Plantation. At one point 90 slaves were working on this 950 acre plantation at once. It is still privately owned and not open to the public, but can be toured multiple times during the year when it is opened for church services.
The Harrison Family Vault was an underground tomb adjacent to the Chapel, reserved for the residents of Chilsbury town. The vault was originally reserved only for the Harrison family, and it was is where the people of the town of Childsbury were held after they died while their slot was prepared for burial. The cemetery was also located beside of the vault and the Chapel. There have been countless paranormal investigations of the vault and cemetery done over the last several years.
James Child gave over 600 acres for the creation of the town, enough land for farm land, schools, markets, and the chapel. He created the Strawberry ferry that ran down the Cooper River as transportation to Charleston for the people of Childsbury. The town was sadly short lived. As plantations rapidly grew more popular, the town rapidly grew smaller in population, and soon the town was brought down to nothing except for the Strawberry plantation owned by James Child and his son Issac. They built their home in the early 1800s. After going through multiple different owners, eventually the land was bought by a US Senator, Joseph S. Frelinghuyse who merged the land with the Rice Plantation. At one point 90 slaves were working on this 950 acre plantation at once. It is still privately owned and not open to the public, but can be toured multiple times during the year when it is opened for church services.
Sources
Stroud, Mike. Strawberry Chapel. The Historical Marker Database. October 04, 2009. Accessed September 10, 2018. https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=22977&Result=1.
Strawberry Chapel. South Carolina Picture Project. . Accessed September 13, 2018. https://scpictureproject.org/berkeley-county/strawberry-chapel.html.
Green, Dee. Strawberry plantation. South Carolina Plantations. . Accessed September 15, 2018. https://south-carolina-plantations.com/berkeley/strawberry.html.
Strawberry Chapel. South Carolina Picture Project. . Accessed September 13, 2018. https://scpictureproject.org/berkeley-county/strawberry-chapel.html.
Green, Dee. Strawberry plantation. South Carolina Plantations. . Accessed September 15, 2018. https://south-carolina-plantations.com/berkeley/strawberry.html.