St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Georgia began in 1841. The original church was built in 1844, but was destroyed along with the rest of the town by fire during the Civil War. It is said that Colonel Robert Gould Shaw of the Union troops was ordered to burn the church and city. Following orders, he reluctantly did so and later wrote to his mother about his distress over the burning. He was killed in battle. After the war, his mother sent the church money to help rebuild in a gesture toward healing the north and south. The church purchased the land on Vernon Square where the Bank of Darien once stood and rebuilt the building you see here in 1879. It was modeled after rural English churches. The live oaks and spanish moss draped around this church were so dreamy!
