Our History
On August 17, 1834, six years after the City of Columbus was established, a group met in the home of Dr. Edwin Louis de Graffenried, at the southeast corner of what is now First Avenue and Twelfth Street, and organized an Episcopal church. The founders of the Parish had no rector, no bishop and no building. But they persevered, and in December, 1834, the Georgia General Assembly enacted the articles of the Columbus Episcopal Church. Trinity was Georgia’s fifth Episcopal Church.
In 1834, Trinity’s founders also purchased a lot for its church on the west side of First Avenue, directly across from the church’s present location. “Old Trinity” was completed in 1837, and the Rev. William D. Cairns became Trinity’s first Rector that year. Trinity’s first “Divine Service” in its own building was held on June 4th, 1837.
The cornerstone of the present Trinity Episcopal Church was laid in 1890, and Trinity moved into its new building on August 2, 1891. The formal dedication of the church took place on May 22, 1892. Three symbols from the original building have survived the ages and are in the present church: the Hyslop bell, a 900-pound bell given by New York merchant Robert Hyslop in 1837; marble memorial tablets honoring Rectors Cairns and Hawks; and the altar cross, dating to 1879.
The church added a parish house in 1925-26, and it was subsequently expanded in 1965. The most recent and last addition to the Trinity complex was the construction of a parish hall and kitchen in 1991.
A Power For Good
A detailed history of Trinity Episcopal Church, entitled A Power for Good, was published in 1999 by Smyth & Helwys publishers. A Power for Good was written by Georgia historian Lynn Willoughby, with photographs by Mike Culpepper. This 300-page hardbound volume “celebrates the many accomplishments of the people of Trinity Church over the generations,” and the trials they faced along the way. Copies of A Power for Good are available for purchase in the church office.
