Famous fixture of Beaufort’s skyline has been saved. ‘It’s impressive’
Restoration of the iconic red steeple at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort has returned the luster to one of the city’s most historically significant churches and a fixture to its skyline.
The 65-foot-tall, 135-year-old tower on Craven Street had seen better days when the restoration began in May. New shingles were needed. The beautiful stained-glass windows needed reglazing. A hurricane had damaged the cross years ago.
Over the course of six months, old shingles from the very top were removed and replaced by pressed steel shingles, the same kind used when the steeple was added to the building in the 1890s, said Jeff Berry, of J. Berry and Co. Construction and Restoration. The rest of the steeple was repaired and painted. Its nine stained-glass windows were stripped and reglazed.
A new cross was erected on the steeple as part of the restoration. Next, work will begin on the historic church’s roof.
“It’s impressive,” Fred Washington Jr., a church leader, says of the restored steeple.
As long as it’s properly maintained, the tower should last for years to come, said Berry and Rob Montgomery, an architect who consulted on the project.
“I’m proud of it,” Berry said Monday, when he and Montgomery met with church officials about the next big job of repairing the roof.
Tabernacle Baptist is one of three downtown churches whose steeples can be seen by drivers entering the city from the south via the Woods Memorial Bridge over the Beaufort River.
The others are St. Helena’s Anglican Church and Beaufort Baptist. “We’re the middle cross,” says Ed Allen, another church leader.
A door in the back of Tabernacle Baptist’s second-floor balcony leads to old wooden steps to the four-story steeple. As the steps rise, they pass massive trestles and the newly restored stained-glass windows, whose greens, reds and blues contrast with simple white cathedral frames.
A 24-inch bronze bell is located on the third floor. The bell is rung once a year, on Dec. 31, when members gather for Watch Night, also known as Freedom’s Eve.
The tradition began in 1863 when Black church congregations, including founding members of Tabernacle Baptist, gathered to usher in the new year and commemorate the anticipation of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Berry taps the bell and it replies.
“It’s got a great tone,” he says.
The history of the church is as deep as the steeple is high.
Tabernacle Baptist’s founding members signed a resolution in support of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves that was sent to President Lincoln and resides in the Library of Congress. Beaufort-born Robert Smalls, who rose from slavery to Civil War hero and congressman, is buried on the property. Abolitionist Harriet Tubman spoke at the church.
The congregation was formed by 500 black members of nearby Beaufort Baptist Church after other members evacuated for the area due to the federal occupation in 1861. They used a lecture room for services during the war. In 1867, the black congregation bought that lecture room building and property. The steeple was added to the building in the 1890s.
A grant from The Sacred Places program, managed by Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, helped to pay for the steeple work. The program supports congregations with older properties that have historical and architectural significance. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Hodges, who died on April 22, led the effort to restore the church.
Tabernacle Baptist is the only historic church in Beaufort with a north-south orientation instead of the traditional east-west configuration of many Christian churches. The reason for the difference is the building’s original use as a meeting hall.
“You will not find another church in this area with a steeple like this,” Washington said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 9:36 AM.
