Strawberry Chapel and Childsbury Town Site

Strawberry Chapel is a parochial chapel of ease in the lower part of St. John's, Berkeley Parish in Berkeley County, South Carolina that was built in 1725. It is on Strawberry Chapel Road between South Carolina State Highway 8-44 and the West Branch of the Cooper River. The Town of Childsbury was a planned community that was settled in 1707. The town no longer exists. They were named to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1972.HistoryJames Child, an English settler, was granted a tract of 1200acre on Strawberry Bluff overlooking the Cooper River. This location was the furthest upstream that ships could travel. He established a ferry across the river.The town of Childsbury was planned for the bluff. At one time, the town had a tavern, school, chapel, race track, general store, and ferry. A tanner, butcher, shoemaker and carpenters lived in the town. Due to the growth of nearby plantations, the town withered. By 1750, the chapel and tavern continued to be used. Fairs were held until the mid-1750s.The chapel was a parochial chapel of ease of the Parish of St. John's, Berkeley. The parish church at the time was Biggin Church, which is about 10mi away. The designation of "parochial" meant that it had the authority to baptize and bury the dead.By 1825, Strawberry Chapel replaced Biggins Church as the parish church. The town is now a South Carolina Heritage Preserve.Town planThe town was planned to have twenty-four blocks on Strawberry Bluff. At its center was a market square. Two other squares were named Child's Square and Dixe's Square. The streets were 66ft wide.