Trinity United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in Durham, North Carolina.
| Trinity United Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Trinity United Methodist Church in 2019 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | United Methodist |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Durham, North Carolina, United States |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Ralph Adams Cram |
| Type | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1923 |
| Completed | 1924 |
| Website | |
| trinitydurham.org | |
History
editThe congregation at Trinity, one of the oldest Methodist congregations in Durham, was founded in 1832.[1] They were known as the Orange Grove Church and later as the Durham Methodist Church.[1] They first met in a small school house on Raleigh Road.[2] In 1861, they purchased the current plot of land and built a small pine wood church that sat two hundred people.[1] The church was damaged during Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War.[1] The building was temporarily used as a military hospital for wounded soldiers and, after the war, was used a women's seminiary.[1]
In 1881, a new building was built to house the growing congregation. In 1886, the church was renamed Trinity Methodist Church. A group of congregants estalished a new church on Main Street in the West End neighborhood.[1]
On January 21, 1923, the church was destroyed in a fire.[2] The current building was constructed in 1924, designed by the architect Ralph Adams Cram, who had previously designed St. Philip's Episcopal Church.[2] The steeple was added in 1985.[1]