Scenic USA - South Carolina

Each day Scenic USA presents a new and interesting photo feature from somewhere in the United States. Chosen from a wide variety
of historic sites, city scenes, backcountry byways, points of interest and America's best parklands, this site offers the viewer hundreds
of unique vacation destinations and photographic subjects. Each feature is coupled with a brief explanation. For further detailed
information, links to other sites are provided, but are never to be considered an endorsement.

Church of the Cross

Church of the Cross - Bluffton, South Carolina

Photos by Ben Prepelka

Heyward House Welcome Center - Bluffton, South Carolina      Cooling breezes, bright sunshine and tropical palm trees created the perfect summer retreat for wealthy South Carolina planters during the early 19th century. Here along the May River in Old Town Bluffton, where the secession movement stirred South Carolina to eventually leave the Union, is packed with history and old-style southern charm. The Heyward House (inset), Bluffton's official welcome center, is the perfect stop to begin a tour of Old Town Church of the Cross Bell Tower - Bluffton, South Carolina Bluffton.
     Another one of Bluffton's architectural charmers is the historic Church of the Cross. Taking four years to build, architect Edward Brickell White's touches are seen throughout the handsome cruciform Gothic building. Its arched windows, with rose colored English glass and latticed shutters, highlight the exterior, while exposed pine timbers and a pine scored plaster walls create a striking interior.
     Surviving widespread destruction as Federal Troops marched through Bluffton in 1963 and a deadly 1898 hurricane, the Church of the Cross recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and remains a popular stop in historic Bluffton.

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