Since 1872 this church, the Washington Street United Methodist Church at 1401 Washington Street in Columbia, South Carolina, has held its corner. Here, on December 15, 1803, John Harper and a small number of Methodists decided to build a church on the corner of Washington and Marion streets. The following year a plain wooden structure was completed — the first church building to be constructed in Columbia — and congregations have been worshiping on this site ever since.
That original sanctuary stood where the present sanctuary stands today; the church you see now was built in 1872 and was added to the National Register in 1970. Because several Methodist churches have sprung from its founding, Washington Street has been called the “Mother Church” of Methodism in Columbia. The Reverend John Harper, the church’s founder, was ordained by John Wesley, and Bishop Francis Asbury visited and shepherded the young congregation until his death in 1815.
A young William Capers was appointed pastor here in 1818 and was reappointed in 1831, 1835, and 1846, the year he was consecrated bishop. Picture a young William Capers serving here as pastor, later consecrated bishop, on this corner of Washington and Marion streets.