Old Sheldon Church Ruins at Night

"Old Sheldon Church Ruins" was photographed in April 2017. Although not quite part of Coastal Georgia, it is only an hour drive from Savannah, Georgia. Located on Old Sheldon Church Road near Yemasee, South Carolina, it is the ruins of a church built before the Revolutionary War.

I envisioned getting this shot with the Milky Way as I was scouting the area during a recent day visit. Visits here are great photographic opportunities, whether during the day or at night. The day photographs are obviously much more easier to obtain, and night photography ALWAYS presents itself with it's own photographic challenges. This should not be attempted at night, unless you really know what you are doing and are an experienced night photographer. 

The church was built between 1751-1757 and primarily paid for by Lt. Governor William Bull I who owned a plantation in the area. William Bull died in 1755 and is buried in the center of the church. The church was burned partially by local loyalists during the raid of General Augustine Provost in 1779 during the American Revolution and rebuilt between 1825-1826. In the early times it was called Prince William's Parish Church. Sheldon was the name of William Bull's plantation and where the name "Old Sheldon Church" comes from. It was an Anglican church.

The church lasted until the Civil War. It was assumed by many area residents and widely believed that Federal troops burned the church after Sherman's "March to the Sea" which brought him through Savannah. He spared Savannah, but entered South Carolina and resumed his campaign of destruction. The church was not burned, but was actually dismantled after the Civil War by local freedmen between 1865-1867 who needed supplies to build their own homes.