Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. It was consecrated on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...

, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

. The church is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. It remains open for tours and religious activities. The church was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1961 and became part of

First State National Historical Park First State National Historical Park is a National Park Service unit which lies primarily in the state of Delaware but which extends partly into Pennsylvania in Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Chadds Ford. Initially created a ...

in 2013. The church appears on the obverse of the 1937 Delaware Tercentenary half dollar.

History

The church was built in 1698–99 in territory that had been the colony of

until 1655. The building materials were local blue granite and Swedish bricks that had been used as ship's

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

. The church is situated on the site of the

Fort Christina Fort Christina, also called Fort Altena, was the first Sweden, Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Christina, Queen of Sweden, it was located approximately 1&nb ...

's burial ground, which dates to 1638. The church claims to be "the nation's oldest church building still used for worship as originally built". There are reportedly over 15,000 burials in the churchyard.

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church services were held in the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, making it the G ...

well into the 18th century. John Hansson Steelman provided significant donations which enabled the construction of the church, including £320 for the purchase of land for the church at Fort Christina and for the building of the church, £220 by loans and £100 by gift he received in return the promise that he and his wife would be buried within the church, which was not done, as they moved to Pennsylvania in the 1730s. In 1697, the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

renewed its commitment to Swedish settlers in the

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

and sent three missionaries, Jonas Auren, Eric Bjork, and Andreas Rudman, to the area. A total of three churches with similar architecture were built or established by Swedish communities in the area about the same time. All are generally known as "Old Swedes" and later joined the Episcopal Church.

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes, is a historic church located in the Southwark, Philadelphia, Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Chris ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

was founded in 1697 and the building was completed in 1700. Trinity Church in

Swedesboro, New Jersey Swedesboro is a borough within Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,711, its highest decennial count ever and an inc ...

was founded in 1703, with its current building completed in 1784. Five other Swedish churches were founded in the 18th century: St. Mary Anne's Episcopal Church in

North East, Maryland North East is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located between Philadelphia and Baltimore. The population was 3,572 at the 2010 census. The Turkey Point Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places ...

; Old St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in

Douglassville, Pennsylvania Douglassville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Amity Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Douglassville is situated along U.S. Route 422 and Pennsylvania Route 724. Developments include the Amity Gardens subdivision, th ...

; St. George's Episcopal in Churchtown, New Jersey; St. James Kingsessing in Philadelphia; and Christ Church (Old Swedes) in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Holy Trinity in Wilmington has housed an Episcopal parish since 1791 and is now part of the

Episcopal Diocese of Delaware The Episcopal Church in Delaware, formerly known as the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware, is one of 108 dioceses making up the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It consists of 33 congregations or parishes in an area the same as the St ...

. An earlier church in New Sweden was built in Swanwyck, near New Castle about 1662, which was replaced by a combined church and fort at Crane Hook in 1667. In 1958, the historic Hendrickson House was moved to the grounds of the church. The church building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.Richard Greenwood (July 22, 1975) , National Park Service and ''Accompanying 6 photos, exterior and interior, from 1967 and undated'' Trinity Parish operates two church buildings in Wilmington, both listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: the

main building Main Building is a common name for a building on some university and college campuses serving as home to administrative offices, such as president or provost and may refer to: Austria *Main building (University of Vienna) Canada * Main Building ( ...

on North Adams,The Episcopal Church in Delaware , Trinity Parish Delaware
/ref> and Old Swedes at East 7th and Church Streets.

Burials in churchyard

Notable burials include: * Alexis Irenee du Pont Bayard (1918–1985), lieutenant governor of Delaware *Elizabeth Bradford du Pont Bayard (1880–1975) * James A. Bayard (1799–1880), U.S. Senator * Richard Bayard (1796–1868), first mayor of Wilmington, U.S. Senator * Thomas F. Bayard, Sr. (1828–1898), secretary of state under President Cleveland * Thomas F. Bayard, Jr. (1868–1942), U.S. Senator *Dr. Joseph Capelle, a Revolutionary War veteran *Catharina and Britta Cock (d. 1726) *Major Peter Jaquett, a Revolutionary War veteran *The Right Reverend Alfred Lee, first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware * Ignatius Grubb (1841–1927), justice of the Delaware State Supreme Court. * George R. McLane (1819–1855), American physician and politician *Captain Hugh Montgomery, captain of the brig ''Nancy'', raised the first

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

in a foreign port *Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of Captain Hugh Montgomery *Hans Jurgen Smidt (1696-1753) and Mary Stalcop (1696-1750), ancestors of

Devil Anse Hatfield William Anderson "Devil Anse" or “Uncle Anse” Hatfield (; September 9, 1839 – January 6, 1921) was the patriarch of the West Virginian Hatfield family who led the family during the Hatfield–McCoy feud. Biography Hatfield was born S ...

of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. *Carl Christopher Springer, first warden *William Vandever (d. 1718), grave marked with the oldest legible stone * Samuel White (1770–1809), U.S. Senator * James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925) Union general in the Civil War Old Swedes Church engraving by John Sartain.jpg, "Swede's Church" by

John Sartain John Sartain (October 24, 1808 – October 25, 1897) was an English-born American artist who pioneered mezzotint engraving in the United States. Biography John Sartain was born in London, England. He learned line engraving, and produced several o ...

(1845) InteriorOldSwedesHabs.jpg, Interior of Old Swedes Church. From the Historic American Buildings Survey, Edward M. Rosenfeld, Photographer, April 20, 1934 Iron Letters Old Swedes.JPG, Iron letters on the east wall of the church dating from 1698, spelling in Latin "LUX-L.I. TENEBR ORIENS- EX ALTO" which translates to "Light from on high shines in the darkness" Image:Delaware swedish tercentenary half dollar commemorative obverse.jpg, Old Swedes Church depicted on the 1937 Delaware Tercentenary half dollar

References

External links

Old Swedes Foundation websiteTrinity Parish website
– National Park Service

History of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church 1697-1773 Historic Churches of American
by Nellie Urner Wallington, 1907. * {{authority control Historic American Buildings Survey in Delaware Episcopal church buildings in Delaware Churches in Wilmington, Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware 1699 establishments in Delaware 17th-century Episcopal church buildings Museums in Wilmington, Delaware History museums in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware Churches completed in 1699 First State National Historical Park Swedish-American history Swedish-American culture in Delaware New Sweden Churches in New Sweden

History

Burials in churchyard

See also

References

External links