Trinity United Methodist Church (Durham, North Carolina)

{{short description|Methodist church in Durham, North Carolina}}

{{Infobox religious building

| building_name = Trinity United Methodist Church

| image = Trinity United Methodist Church, Durham, NC (49160873398).jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Trinity United Methodist Church in 2019

| location = 215 N Church Street
Durham, North Carolina, United States

| coordinates = {{Coord|35|59|44|N|78|53|55|W|type:landmark_region:US-NC|display=inline,title}}

| religious_affiliation = United Methodist

| sector =

| district =

| consecration_year =

| functional_status = Active

| heritage_designation =

| leadership =

| website = [https://www.trinitydurham.org/ trinitydurham.org]

| architecture_type = Gothic Revival

| architect = Ralph Adams Cram

| groundbreaking = 1923

| year_completed = 1924

}}

Trinity United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in Durham, North Carolina.

History

The congregation at Trinity, one of the oldest Methodist congregations in Durham, was founded in 1832.{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} About {{!}} Trinity United Methodist Church |url=https://www.trinitydurham.org/pages/history |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.trinitydurham.org}} They were known as the Orange Grove Church and later as the Durham Methodist Church. They first met in a small school house on Raleigh Road.{{Cite web |title=Trinity Methodist (1880-1923) {{!}} Open Durham |url=https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/trinity-methodist-1880-1923 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=www.opendurham.org}} In 1861, they purchased the current plot of land and built a small pine wood church that sat two hundred people. The church was damaged during Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War. The building was temporarily used as a military hospital for wounded soldiers and, after the war, was used a women's seminiary.

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.

On January 21, 1923, the church was destroyed in a fire. The current building was constructed in 1924, designed by the architect Ralph Adams Cram, who had previously designed St. Philip's Episcopal Church. The steeple was added in 1985.

References