Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

Columbia [1]’s beautiful, buffed-brick Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (1100 Sumter St., 803/771-7300, www.trinitysc.org [2]) near the State House [3] is a fine example of Gothic Revival church architecture, and a recent renovation has made it even more attractive. Its congregation has roots back to the very first backcountry Anglican church in the state, around 1812.

Designed by Edward Brickell in 1840, the current sanctuary boasts stained-glass windows from Munich, a gorgeous baptismal font, and a host of deceased luminaries in the attached cemetery, including five governors of South Carolina [4] and three Confederate generals (and one man who was both: Wade Hampton III).

Good construction and benevolent wind patterns (and divine intervention?) saved the church from Yankee fires in 1865.