Special Churches: St. John in the Wilderness

The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina. This lovely chapel is nestled in the woods, surrounded by a cemetary that shares it space with moss covered logs, rhododendron bushes and towering pine trees. I found it to be utterly tranquil.

The original church was built as a private, family chapel in the early 1830s for the Baring family of Charleston, South Carolina. After it burned in a woods fire in 1833, work began to rebuild the structure of brick.

In 1836, the church was deeded to the newly formed Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. At that time St. John in the Wilderness was the first Episcopal Church in Western North Carolina. In 1852, the church was expanded to its present form.

St. John in the Wilderness is open to visitors daily 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (closed on Mondays). Services are held at 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sundays.