Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Photo, Print, Drawing Strawberry Chapel, 1000 Strawberry Chapel Road, Cordesville, Berkeley County, SC

[ Photos from Survey HABS SC-37  ]

More Resources

[ Drawings from Survey HABS SC-37  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HABS SC-37  ]
[ pdf version of supplemental pages ]

About this Item

Title

  • Strawberry Chapel, 1000 Strawberry Chapel Road, Cordesville, Berkeley County, SC

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • Waterman, Thomas T, photographer
  • Nichols, Frederick D, photographer
  • Waterman, Thomas T, historian
  • Marks, Dana, field team supervisor
  • Stewart, Sada, field team supervisor
  • Bennett, John, field team
  • Gunn, Branden, field team
  • Hlavin, Kim, field team
  • Howard, Kate, field team
  • Kamath, Rucha, field team
  • Mendelson, Amy, field team
  • Payne, Chelsea, field team
  • Ross, Kerri, field team
  • Tenny, Chris, field team
  • Waters, Kendra, field team
  • West, Kyunhea, field team
  • Leifeste, Amalia, faculty sponsor
  • Clemson University/College of Charleston, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, sponsor
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  chapels
  • -  religions
  • -  brick buildings
  • -  Flemish bond
  • -  jerkinhead roofs
  • -  South Carolina--Berkeley County--Cordesville

Latitude / Longitude

  • 33.093605,-79.935169

Notes

  • -  2019 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry
  • -  Significance: Strawberry Chapel is a significant reminder of the organization of parishes and plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the entire nation depended on the agricultural economy. Much of that agricultural export resulted in South Carolina's plantations. However, this agricultural pursuit meant families and enslaved workers lived outside of the range of access to cities and larger towns. Creating their own community within the realm of the rural bounds of plantations and communities became imperative to continue social pursuits, such as attending church. Strawberry Chapel is a remnant of that system, in which those who contributed greatly to the economy, but could not participate as regularly in society of the larger city, created their own parish community to worship and socialize. Architecturally, Strawberry Chapel retains its historic Lowcountry character with wooded areas and rural environment and has not changed significantly since initial development in 1725. Evocative of the classic Anglican chapel of ease plan, Strawberry is a simple, yet effective architectural form that represents typical chapel from the parish church system in the South. The Chapel has undergone very few changes since its construction, with the stewards only working on elements that maintain the safety of the Chapel, and its parishioners (such as the roof and broken windows). Strawberry Chapel has changed so little, that even the landscape is largely the same, with pathways that lead to family grave enclosures and the Chapel itself. The Chapel is still used for four services a year, and the graveyard onsite is still in use and lies adjacent to the Chapel. The Chapel is also significant as it predates the antebellum heyday of plantation culture, and is the only remaining remnant of the Town of Childsbury, laid out but never completed by James Child in the early 1700s. After the main church for the parish, Biggin Church, burned, Strawberry Chapel became the main parish church. Though the chapel still stands today with its furnishings, some of its most culturally valued pieces are in the Charleston Museum. Two of the oldest pieces of Southern silver remaining are Strawberry Chapel’s communion silver from 1705. The Chapel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as well as part of the Cooper River National Historic District.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2366
  • -  Survey number: HABS SC-37
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1725 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1886 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1913 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: ca. 1873 Subsequent Work
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72001194

Medium

  • Photo(s): 8
  • Measured Drawing(s): 13
  • Data Page(s): 9

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS SC,8-CORD.V,2-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • sc0343

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS SC,8-CORD.V,2-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
      • The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Thomas T Waterman, Dana Marks, Sada Stewart, John Bennett, Branden Gunn, Kim Hlavin, et al., Waterman, Thomas T, and Frederick D Nichols, photographer. Strawberry Chapel,Strawberry Chapel Road, Cordesville, Berkeley County, SC. South Carolina Cordesville Berkeley County, 1933. translateds by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sc0343/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., Waterman, T. T., Marks, D., Stewart, S., Bennett, J., Gunn, B. [...] Clemson University/College Of Charleston, G. P. I. H. P., Waterman, T. T. & Nichols, F. D., photographer. (1933) Strawberry Chapel,Strawberry Chapel Road, Cordesville, Berkeley County, SC. South Carolina Cordesville Berkeley County, 1933. McPartland, M., trans Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sc0343/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographers by Waterman, Thomas T, and Frederick D Nichols. Strawberry Chapel,Strawberry Chapel Road, Cordesville, Berkeley County, SC. trans by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/sc0343/>.