Chapel Of Ease in St. Helena Island, South Carolina

On Sunday, as we were heading back home after our beach trip, we stopped by the Chapel of Ease in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Our friends told us about it the first time we went down there. And we'd driven by it a few times, but Sunday was the first time we stopped to take some pictures.

The Chapel of Ease is located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in St. Helena Island, South Carolina. According to the signage on site, the church was built around 1740. It's a beautiful, peaceful spot right on the side of the road.

According to Explore Beaufort SC, chapels of ease were built by rice and cotton planters during the Colonial period. Their plantations were often really far from churches, so they would build these chapels of ease as places to worship.

This Chapel of Ease was there for members of the Parish Church of St. Helena in downtown Beaufort. It was once known as the "White Church" as it appeared to glow white.  This was due to it being constructed of oyster shells and lime. It was once well-attended, but services were stopped after major damage from the 1886 forest fire.

In 1861, the church was abandoned when planters evacuated the island.  The church did get used by Northerns during the Federal occupation in the area. Methodist freedmen also used the church as early as 1868.

In November of 1861, the congregation was made aware of an impending invasion by Union troops with Captain William Oliver Perry Fripp.  Fripp's ancestors are credited with upkeep of the chapel, and the mausoleum on-site was built for Edgar Fripp and his wife Eliza.

The vault in the mausoleum is out of order.  The door apparently was ruined by soldiers, and they bricked up the entrance.  But legend has it that the day after the vault was sealed, the next day, the bricks had been removed and stacked next to it.

Many people believe the place to be haunted, and the mausoleum remains half-sealed.  And I will tell you, even in broad daylight, I got a very eerie feeling looking into it!

I will say, I am fascinated by "ghost stories" and stories of hauntings.  Now, I'm easily spooked, but I'll still explore!  And many people believe the Chapel of Ease is haunted.  Some people have reported whispers, prayers, and singing.  Some have heard names being shouted.  And still others say they've seen a lady in white carrying a child.  Which wouldn't surprise me, as we saw a few graves that were for small children.

You can read more about the hauntings here.