Washington Street United Methodist Church
Twenty-seven years after the first small church was built, a wave of religious enthusiasm dictated the need for a larger building to accommodate the crowds attending services. The cornerstone for a substantial brick building was laid at the same site as the previous smaller church on June 14, 1831. That building was destroyed by fire on February 17–18, 1865, when the troops of General William T. Sherman captured and burned Columbia. According to legend, the Union troops were looking for the First Baptist Church, original site of the secession convention, and were directed to Washington Street Church by the Baptist sexton. A small, temporary church with a seating capacity of 400 was constructed in 1866 from brick salvaged from the burned church. -from Wikipedia
