Our History
A Brief History of Calvary Episcopal Church
By Fred Sparger
One of the oldest Episcopal churches in North Carolina, Calvary was formed in 1820 in what was then known as Wadesborough. It was the fifth Episcopal church in the state, following only churches in Wilmington, New Bern, Edenton, and Fayetteville. Two missionaries were primarily responsible for bringing the Episcopal faith to Anson County: the Rev. Andrew Fowler from Cheraw, S.C., and the Rev. Thomas Wright from the Diocese of North Carolina. Mr. Wright would, in 1821, become the church’s first rector. He is credited with the formal organization of the church and with selecting the name “Calvary.”
Mrs. Effie McLaurin Shepherd was the first communicant of Calvary church, and Dr. Thomas Parke and Col. William Dismukes were the first delegates from Calvary to be seated at the Diocesan Convention.
Initially, the church met in the Wadesborough Academy, which was established in 1797 and was located near the present-day intersection of West Morgan Street and White Store Road. In 1831, the church occupied its own building at the corner of East Wade and Brent streets. That wooden building, which included a balcony for enslaved people, was consecrated by Bishop Levi Silliman Ives, who described it as “a neat commodious edifice which does much credit to the liberalism of the few Episcopalians in this place.”
The present church was built on the same site in 1893. It was designed by Englishman and parishioner John E. Hill, who based his plan on what he remembered of English country churches. Some of his descendants remain members of Calvary, where the Hill family reunion is held annually.
During the service of consecration of the new building, Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire said of the facility: “The Rector and the people of the Parish have reason to feel deeply gratified at the completion of this beautiful church, which for the situation and necessities of the Parish, has not its superior in the Diocese for beauty and fitness.” The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “particularly sophisticated example of an English Country Gothic Revival church.”
Calvary’s doors have always been open to everyone. While the attendance of enslaved people in the early days might well have been involuntary, there are numerous records in the parish register of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and burials of “free colored.”
During the second year of the American Civil War, the Rev. C.T. Bland became rector. Bishop Thomas Atkinson and his family, who resided in Wilmington, took refuge in Wadesborough (the spelling was changed to Wadesboro in 1868) during the war. The village did not offer much safety, as the Bishop was robbed at gunpoint and the church’s meager treasury was stolen by troopers under the command of Union Gen. Judson Kilpatrick.
In 1920, Calvary celebrated its centennial at a service on Dec. 26. Instead of a sermon, Mrs. John D. Leak read her recently completed history of the church. The brownstone wall, which still defines the church property, was presented as a centennial gift from the women of the church “in loving memory of the faithful departed” during the past century.
While Calvary has had only two church buildings in its 200 years, it has owned three rectories, or church-owned homes for rectors and their families. The first, believed to have been on Camden Road, was built in 1875. The second, on East Wade Street, was occupied in 1908. The third and current rectory, built in 1949, is on East Morgan Street. In the mid-1930s, the church’s new Parish House was dedicated in memory of James A. Hardison.
In 1987, the church dedicated a memorial garden between the sanctuary and the Parish House. The space, which includes a columbarium, was redesigned prior to the church’s bicentennial in 2020. Its centerpiece remains “The Crosses of Calvary,” a bronze sculpture by New Zealand artist Jim Wheeler, a former parishioner.
In 2015, Calvary broke with tradition and singled out an individual member for special recognition. On Easter Sunday, the church celebrated “Lucy Davis Day” as proclaimed by Bishop Michael B. Curry. Mrs. Davis was honored for her more than 50 years of extraordinary contributions. She was named Senior Warden Emeritus and remains the only parishioner upon whom that title has been bestowed.
An updated church history written by Penny Mills and Lynn Horton, 200 Years at Calvary, was published in advance of a bicentennial celebration scheduled for May 3, 2020. The celebration was canceled on account of the coronavirus pandemic but the book was sent to members. The church celebrated its 206th anniversary Oct. 17 and 18, 2026.
Originally published in Anson County Historical Society News in March 2020. Updated in October 2026.
