Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)

Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New Sweden.[3] The church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. The church is considered part of First State National Historical Park. The church, which is often visited by tourists, remains open today for tours and religious activities.

Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church
Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)
LocationE. 7th St. and Church St., Wilmington, Delaware
Coordinates39°44′18.14″N 75°32′26.48″W
Built1698 (1698)
NRHP reference No.66000261
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLNovember 5, 1961[2]

History

The church was built in 1698–99 in territory that had been the colony of New Sweden until 1655. The building materials were local blue granite and Swedish bricks that had been used as ship's ballast. The church is situated on the site of the Fort Christina's burial ground, which dates to 1638. The church claims to be "the nation's oldest church building still used for worship as originally built". There are reportedly over 15,000 burials in the churchyard. Lutheran Church services were held in the Swedish language well into the 18th century.[4]

In 1697, the Church of Sweden renewed its commitment to Swedish settlers in the Delaware Valley and sent three missionaries, Jonas Auren, Eric Bjork, and Andreas Rudman, to the area.[5] A total of three churches with similar architecture were built or established by Swedish communities in the area about the same time. All are generally known as "Old Swedes", and later joined the Episcopal Church. Holy Trinity in Wilmington was built in 1699. Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church in Philadelphia, about 30 miles away, was founded in 1677 and the building was completed in 1700. Trinity Church in Swedesboro, New Jersey, about 20 miles away by modern roads, was founded in 1703, with its current building completed in 1784.

HABS architectural drawing of the church

Five other Swedish churches were founded about this time: St. Mary Anne's Episcopal Church in the town of North East, Maryland, Old St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Douglassville, Pennsylvania, St. George's Episcopal in Churchtown, New Jersey, St. James Kingsessing in Philadelphia, and Christ Church (Old Swedes) in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania.[5]

Holy Trinity in Wilmington has housed an Episcopal parish since 1791 and is now part of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware. An earlier church in New Sweden was built in Swanwyck, near New Castle about 1662, which was replaced by a combined church and fort at Crane Hook in 1667.[6]

In 1958, the historic Hendrickson House was moved to the grounds of the church. The church building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.[2] [7] Trinity Parish operates two church buildings in Wilmington, both listed on the NRHP: the main building on North Adams,[8] and Old Swedes at East 7th and Church Streets.

Burials in churchyard

Notable burials include:

  • Alexis Irenee du Pont Bayard (1918–1985), Lieutenant Governor of Delaware
  • Elizabeth Bradford du Pont Bayard (1880–1975)
  • James A. Bayard (1799–1880), U.S. Senator
  • Richard Bayard (1796–1868), first Mayor of Wilmington, U.S. Senator
  • Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. (1828–1898), Secretary of State under President Cleveland
  • Thomas F. Bayard, Jr. (1868–1942), U.S. Senator
  • Dr. Joseph Capelle, a Revolutionary War veteran
  • Catharina and Britta Cock (d. 1726)
  • Frank Martine Heal
  • Major Peter Jaquett, a Revolutionary War veteran
  • The Right Reverend Alfred Lee, first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware
  • Ignatius Grubb (1841–1927), Justice of Delaware state supreme court.
  • Captain Hugh Montgomery, Captain of the brig Nancy, raised the first American flag in a foreign port
  • Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of Capt. Hugh Montgomery
  • Hans Jurgen Smidt (1696-1753) and Mary Stalcop (1696-1750), 3xgreat-grandparents of Devil Anse Hatfield of Hatfield-McCoy Feud.
  • Carl Christopher Springer, first Warden
  • William Vandever (d. 1718), grave marked with the oldest legible stone
  • Mary Vining, Belle of the American Revolutionary period
  • Samuel White (1770–1809), U.S. Senator
  • James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925) Union general in the Civil War
  • "Swede's Church" by John Sartain (1845)
  • Interior of Old Swedes Church. From the Historic American Buildings Survey, Edward M. Rosenfeld, Photographer, April 20, 1934
  • Iron letters on the east wall of the church dating from 1698, spelling in Latin "LUX-L.I. TENEBR ORIENS- EX ALTO" which translates to "Light from on high shines in the darkness"

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  3. Holy Trinity (Old Swedes') Church
  4. Old Swedes Episcopal Church, Wilmington, DE
  5. Winquist, Alan; Jessica Rousselow-Winquist (2009). Touring Swedish America, Second Edition: Where to Go and What to See. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 10. ISBN 9780873517041.
  6. Sacred Reminiscences in the Old Swedes' Church (by The Rev. John W. McCullough, Rector of Trinity Church (Wilmington, Del.: Printed by Porter & Naff, 1842
  7. Richard Greenwood (July 22, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, National Park Service and https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/66000261_photos Accompanying 6 photos, exterior and interior, from 1967 and undated
  8. The Episcopal Church in Delaware | Trinity Parish Delaware
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