The church that has stood at the southeast corner of Abercorn and 34th Streets since 1907 can trace its origins directly back to 1852 and the creation of the City Mission, under the visionary leadership of The Rev. Thomson L. Smith.

The Mission, supported by both Christ Church Parish and St. John’s Parish, was a "Free Episcopal Church," which meant it did not levy rent for its pews. Thus persons of meager incomes were not excluded from the life, work and worship of the Episcopal Church.

The Mission proved so successful that by 1857 enough funds had been raised to build a church on Calhoun Square. It served as the home of St. Paul’s until it was closed in December, 1864 by the Rev. Dr. John Easter, who fled with the retreating Confederate troops to South Carolina as Gen. W.T. Sherman’s army was seizing Savannah.

St. Paul’s building was pressed into service as a military hospital during the Federal Army’s occupation of the city and suffered severe depredations, including the loss of all sacred furnishings and the destruction of its imposing East Window. But worse was to come for the first St. Paul’s.

The church was destroyed by fire in 1866, but accounts of the cause are contradictory. One report said the church was accidentally burned by "some boys celebrating Christmas in our noisy Savannah way," but another account claimed the fire was deliberately set as retribution "because the Yankees put African-Americans in it." Whatever the cause, the result was the same: the church was burned to the ground and the parishioners were without a place to worship.

Our achievements spanning nearly 150 years of service in Savannah have been deeply rooted in the sacramental life reclaimed by the vision of the Oxford Movement. As a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, St. Paul’s strives to bear witness to our need of God and each other. Like other Anglicans worldwide, we endeavor to instill and nurture a faith which transfigures not only ourselves but all with whom we come in contact.

We continue to write the history of St. Paul’s, at this place and in this time. This is the story of how we began, how we arrived where we are, and where we are headed in the future. At the outset, we promised you a sumptuous and diverse spectrum of heroes, benefactors and advocates, and a grand array of trials and triumphs, dissonance and harmony, aspirations and accomplishment. It is as we pledged. And if we are blessed, our journey into the future will be as filled with glory and wonder as it has been in the past.
For more information please follow the links below:
St. Paul Episcopal Church Website