Old Sheldon Church Ruins

Historical landmark · Beaufort County

Old Sheldon Church Ruins

Historical landmark · Beaufort County

2

Old Sheldon Church Rd, Yemassee, SC 29945

Photos

Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by lendog666 (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Scott Oves/CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by JaneWeinhardt
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Scott Oves/CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by JaneWeinhardt
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by JaneWeinhardt
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by hollowwalls (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Carolyn Elizabeth Heath/CC BY-SA 3.0 (Creative Common)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by JaneWeinhardt
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by susieq3c/CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by hollowwalls (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by WGTMMike (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Robby Ayers (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by breaingram (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by susieq3c/CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by lendog666 (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by Carolyn Elizabeth Heath/CC BY-SA 3.0 (Creative Common)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by dysalgia (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by steelyfan (Atlas Obscura User)
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null
Old Sheldon Church Ruins by null

Highlights

Greek Revival columns, walls & a graveyard from the 1750s stand amid oaks covered in Spanish moss.  

Placeholder
Placeholder
Placeholder

Old Sheldon Church Rd, Yemassee, SC 29945 Get directions

Information

Static Map

Old Sheldon Church Rd, Yemassee, SC 29945 Get directions

+1 843 522 1712

Features

wheelchair accessible parking lot
wheelchair accessible entrance

Last updated

Mar 5, 2025

Powered By

You might also like

Terms of Use • Privacy Policy • Cookie Policy
 © 2025 Postcard Technologies, Inc.
@atlasobscura

"The haunting South Carolina ruins of the Old Sheldon Church have been standing for well over a century, although given its multiple fires, that’s not for lack of trying to destroy the building. The gutted, gothic arches of what we know today as the Old Sheldon Church Ruins were originally part of a house of worship known as Prince William’s Parish Church. Built around the mid-1700s, the church was nearly destroyed by the British during the Revolutionary War not many years after it was completed. The remains of the church would lay abandoned for decades after its first attempted destruction but the stone foundations that remained were finally rebuilt in 1826. Unfortunately this second life for the church was to be about as brief as the first. When General Sherman led his troops through South Carolina during the Civil War, they too felt like it would be a good time to put the Old Sheldon Church to the torch, once again burning the building down to its stone foundations. After this second defeat, the church was allowed to simply remain a ruin for the rest of its days. This may have been for the best since, today, the ruins are a beautiful feature set amongst tall, leaning oaks and smatterings of old graves from the brief periods the church was in service. Now the crumbling remains are often used for wedding photos and other moody photography. However the ruins are put to use, at least they are no longer put to the torch." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

The United States of Abandoned Places
View Postcard for Old Sheldon Church Ruins
@atlasobscura

"The haunting South Carolina ruins of the Old Sheldon Church have been standing for well over a century, although given its multiple fires, that’s not for lack of trying to destroy the building. The gutted, gothic arches of what we know today as the Old Sheldon Church Ruins were originally part of a house of worship known as Prince William’s Parish Church. Built around the mid-1700s, the church was nearly destroyed by the British during the Revolutionary War not many years after it was completed. The remains of the church would lay abandoned for decades after its first attempted destruction but the stone foundations that remained were finally rebuilt in 1826. Unfortunately this second life for the church was to be about as brief as the first. When General Sherman led his troops through South Carolina during the Civil War, they too felt like it would be a good time to put the Old Sheldon Church to the torch, once again burning the building down to its stone foundations. After this second defeat, the church was allowed to simply remain a ruin for the rest of its days. This may have been for the best since, today, the ruins are a beautiful feature set amongst tall, leaning oaks and smatterings of old graves from the brief periods the church was in service. Now the crumbling remains are often used for wedding photos and other moody photography. However the ruins are put to use, at least they are no longer put to the torch." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

The Ruins of South Carolina
View Postcard for Old Sheldon Church Ruins

Ayush Jha

Google
A few minutes away from I-95 lies this incredible church ruins which is a piece of history. You can also see graves here. Parking was not plenty in my opinion. We ensured to put on bug spray based on the reviews that I read here on Google maps it was a good call. recommend close-toed shoes as well. Not a bad brief detour from our long road trip, we spent about 20 minutes, admiring the beauty of this site, as well as looking at all the Graves

Anita D

Google
Super cool place to stop, have a picnic, relax and listen to nature. Picnic tables available. It's a Shady location with lots of big beautiful old trees. Old grave markers are random around the property. No playground for kids, just space to run. This is simply a well kept historical site. The parking lot is across the street from where it shows the park entrance and the road is a major road with traffic traveling fast. Not too many cars but enough....but people are not slowing down for the "40 mph" sign. There is a ramp for wheelchair access but there are only a few packed down paths so having someone to assist may be helpful.

Christopher Caudle

Google
Such a beautiful place we randomly came across on our way to Savannah. Seems like an amazing place to take photos with the Spanish moss hanging from the trees and the old pillars in the background. This was a very peaceful place to stop and stretch our legs after being on the interstate for several hours.

Jeff Schmidt

Google
Stopped along the way to view the remnants of this once vibrant building set amongst old oaks and older graves. The building was burned by the British and almost a hundred years later by the Union Army. The brick walls and columns are all that remain now along with a scattering of graves dating back as old as the Revolutionary War period. Maybe better to say Colonial Period.

Paula Bonna travels

Google
This was an interesting quick stop. I gave it 4 stars out of five just because there wasn’t too much to do there. I took some pictures and left in about 5 minutes.

Moving on with Old man river

Google
The ruins of thos church was first burned during the American Revolution. Then rebuilt in the 1820s. As I walkef around the church I noticed that almost all the trees wete leaning towards the church. Thete ate a number of graves dating back to the 1700s. I can recomend for a quick free stop on hwyway 17

Andrew Rodriguez

Google
Amazing place to come see if you're in the Beaufort area. A lot of history in this area and a must see!

David Dorris

Google
Super interesting historical location to check out. Dates back to the Revolutionary War when the roof was burned by the British. Wish we could have explored in more detail inside the fence, but I understand the need for protection. Make sure and know there is parking on the other side of the street, it's on a fairly busy local road that people seem to speed down and it can be hard to drive slowly to look and get your bearings.