exterior wall . . . . . . . . . . south entry . . . . . . . . . . . . Springer's grave
The South Porch, which is protected by a large gate, houses the steps to the balcony. The balcony was added in 1774 to accommodate a growing membership, but the steps were located outside so there would be no loss of seating on the first floor. The pews in the balcony also date from 1774.
The original church was built with locally-mined Delaware blue granite. This was supplemented with bricks made in Sweden and brought over as ballast. The oyster shells that were used in the mortar for their alkalinity may still be seen on the exterior walls.
The original church was a simple rectangle. When the weight of the roof caused the walls to bulge outward, buttresses were added to prevent further bulging. These were later closed in to use for additional rooms. The bell tower was built in 1802. The bricking in of the butresses to make the south porch may be seen below.
exterior wall . . . . . . . . . . south entry . . . . . . . . . . . . Springer's grave
THE GRAVE OF CHARLES SPRINGER, 1658-1738, is located in the South Porch under the steps to the balcony. Springer was the Warden under Pastor Bjork and served as a trustee and council member until his death.
Today's youth follow a long tradition of destroying the beauty of well-crafted furnishings and defacing monuments erected in loving memory to family members. Recent efforts to restore the original paint on the church doors revealed grafitti from the 1800's, when the congregation was too small to properly protect the church property from vandals.
1798 grafitti . . . . . . . . .
vandalized door . . . . . . . . . .
1835 grafitti
The graveyard reflects the changing customs of erecting markers to memorialize our dear departed family members.
The earliest markers were of wood and slate and disappeared long ago.
The earliest remaining and visible markers are dated 1726.
Simple sandstone tablets were followed by increasingly large and ornate marble tablets, plates, blocks, and pillars.
In recent times granite has been the stone of choice, with simple
letters cut into a highly-polished finish. 
old stones . . . . . . . . . .
ornate stones . . . . . . . . . . . . .
modern stone
The dust inside, ordained as our fate by our Creator, remains the same.
Continue on the tour and view the Hendrickson House
Return to the home page
For information about this page, contact the Page
Manager
URL: http://www.oldswedes.org/soutside.htm
Latest changes: 97Dec20 - created /
