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St. Mark's
Third Street at Grace Street, Wilmington,
NC,
USA
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North Carolina State
Historical Marker |
Marker Text: "Consecrated in 1875 as first Episcopal church for colored people in North Carolina. Served by Bishop Atkinson. Is located 3 blocks east." In late 1869, the Reverend Charles Otis Brady was called to lead a new Episcopal Church in Wilmington—one for an exclusively black congregation. The worshippers initially selected the name St. Paul’s, but soon after adopted St. Mark’s. The new congregation purchased a lot at the corner of Sixth and Mulberry Streets and began raising money for the land and the future church building. Wilmingtonians as well as subscribers from Boston and other areas contributed. Groundbreaking for the church was held in March 1871, and, although the structure was not fully finished, the first church service was held in the new building in December of that year.
St. Mark’s was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese as a mission in 1872. A contemporary Episcopal publication recorded that the opening of St. Mark’s “dawned a new era in the history of the colored race.” The Right Reverend Thomas Atkinson, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina consecrated St. Mark’s Church on June 18, 1875, making it the state’s first Episcopal church for blacks. The Reverend Charles Otis Brady was rector of St. Mark’s until 1886, when he resigned due to failing health. Brady was followed by the Reverends Charles Thompson Coerr (1886-1891), John Fawcett (1892-1893), William M. Jackson (1895-1897), and, leading the congregation into the twentieth century, Robert S. Bennett (1898-1909). The original church building, at 220 North Sixth Street, has been extensively renovated and is still in use.
References:
William M. Reaves, “Strength through Struggle”: The Chronological and Historical Record of the African American Community in Wilmington North Carolina 1865-1950 (1998)
Tony P. Wrenn, Wilmington, North Carolina: An Architectural and Historical Portrait (1984)
Crummel H. McDonald and Lee A. Shelton, “History of St. Mark’s Church,” 100th Anniversary of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (1969)
Board of Missions (Episcopal Church), Spirit of Missions, 1871, 1872, and 1875
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