History

The cornerstone of St. John’s Episcopal Church was laid at the corner of Third and Red Cross Streets in Wilmington, North Carolina on November 21, 1853. Was that the beginning of St. John’s? Not by a long shot.

Wilmington experienced tremendous growth during the first half of the 19th century. It became the largest city in North Carolina and the state’s largest port. You could say that St. John’s beginnings are marked by the 1851 decision of the vestry and congregation of St. James Parish to establish a new Episcopal church in Wilmington.  In 1851, only twelve years after the cornerstone had been laid for a new church building at the corner of Third and Market Streets, the congregation of St. James Parish had outgrown its seating capacity. The rector of St. James Parish, Dr. Robert D. Drane, insisted the new church should be called St. John’s, since James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were brothers.

The first benefactor of St. John’s Episcopal Church was Miss Magdalene deRosset, the daughter of Dr. Armond deRosset who, in her last illness just before her death, requested her father to give her portion of his estate toward the purchase of a lot for the new church. Dr. deRosset granted her request and provided the money to purchase the property. Plans for the new church building, designed by New York architects Willis and Dudley, were approved in December 1852.

The first services were held in the gothic edifice July 10, 1855.

A century later, during a parish meeting conducted by Bishop Thomas Wright in October 1951, the congregation of St. John’s decided its location and facilities at Third and Red Cross Streets had become untenable. The buildings were old and the church, which once stood in a residential area, was now surrounded by garages, grocery stores, and railroad yards. Third Street had become a busy highway and without air conditioning, closing the windows during summer services was not an option. As the church moved into its centennial year, a committee was busy preparing a move to a new building on the growing eastern edge of the city. The MacRae family donated the land on which St. John’s stands today.

The last services downtown were held on Easter 1954. The church, parish house and rectory were deconsecrated and demolished that spring. During demolition, the original cornerstone was removed, opened and the contents were placed in the cornerstone of the new church at the corner of Forest Hills Drive and Park Avenue on October 23, 1954. The Esty pipe organ was taken out to be refurbished and installed in the new church. Eight stained glass windows were also preserved and placed in the new sanctuary.

Barber and McMurry Architects in Knoxville, Tennessee designed the new church to echo the gothic lines of the former edifice. It was constructed of native North Carolina stone with North Carolina oak interior woodwork.

The first services were held in the new, air-conditioned, church July 10, 1955.

Construction of the parish hall, kitchen, common room, nursery, and choir room remained to be accomplished. The building was completed within a year. The St. John’s Episcopal Church Women began making the needlepoint cushions for the chancel seats and kneelers that grace the communion rails to this day.

St. John’s observed its 125th anniversary on October 1, 1978. To celebrate, St. John’s congregation and St. James congregation worshiped together at St. James Parish in a special service with combined choirs. After the commemorative service, the two congregations moved to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a lunch on the grounds.

The 150th anniversary of St. John's was celebrated on November 21, 2003 with a Choral Evensong and parish dinner. The congregation commissioned Willet Studios to create a stained glass window for Elebash Hall to commemorate the event.