Holy Trinity Church (Nashville)

The Church of the Holy Trinity was originally organized on September 23, 1849 as "St. Paul's Mission on Summer Street" (now Fifth Avenue) at the desire of Reverend Charles S. Tomes, then rector of the nearby Christ Church Episcopal, Nashville's first Episcopal congregation, located on the corner of what is now Sixth Avenue North and Church Street.[2][3] The mission, which was the first spawned by Christ Church,[4] began with a small cohort of twelve members of Christ Church and averaged around fifty attendees per service throughout its first year. Tomes was assisted by John Philip Thurston Ingraham from Wisconsin for the first year of the mission's existence, but Ingraham resigned in 1850 after an outbreak of cholera in the city proved too burdensome for him to handle. After Ingraham's departure, Tomes had to pull double duty many weeks as the rector of both Christ Church and St. Paul's mission, as any temporary priests' tenures were short-lived.[3]

By 1851, the mission had been organized into a parish under Reverend John W. Rogers, and on December 6 of the same year, the parish purchased a lot on what is now Sixth Avenue South, Lafayette Street, and Ewing Avenue for the construction of a new building to be called the "Church of the Holy Trinity."[3][4] After a short fundraising drive spearheaded by Tomes, the cornerstone was laid in May 1852. Since Tomes was married to Henrietta Otey, daughter of Bishop James Hervey Otey, the first Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee, the Bishop was invited to give a sermon at the ceremony in May 1852.[3]

It was Tomes's intention to organize the church as a "free church", i.e. one that did not charge pew taxes, a common fund-raising method for churches in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Tomes was vehemently opposed to these charges, claiming they discriminated against poor parishioners, and resented the fact that his home parish of Christ Church required payment for use of church pews. He would later resign as the rector from Christ Church in 1857 because of this disagreement.[3]

James Hervey Otey (left) and Charles Todd Quintard (right), first and second Episcopal Bishops of Tennessee, were both connected with the founding of Holy Trinity.

The design of the church building was drawn up by Frank Wills and Henry C. Dudley, architects from New York City who had formed a partnership a year before the church was constructed. The building was constructed over an extended period of time and was not consecrated until May 27, 1888, although services began in the unfinished building as early as 1853.[3] Later that year, Reverend Rogers resigned from his post as rector and the burden again fell on Tomes to lead the Church of the Holy Trinity in addition to Christ Church, although with temporary relief by Reverend John McCullough. Tomes was finally relieved in 1855 by Reverend W.D. Harlow, who served for two years (during which Tomes died) before being succeeded by Charles Todd Quintard, later the second bishop of Tennessee.[2][3] Quintard served as rector from February 1858 until early 1859, and was succeeded by George Carroll Harris, who served as rector until 1862, when he left to become a chaplain in the Army for the remainder of the American Civil War.[3]

During the first part of the Civil War, services were only held infrequently, and the church was seized by Federal troops in 1862 to serve as a storage facility for gunpowder and weapons as well as troop quarters later on. During the occupation, the church was badly damaged. The altar was used as a cutting board, the font as a wash basin, the original pipe organ destroyed, and many of the stained glass windows shattered. After the occupation, the army was forced to pay damages to the church totalling $1,200 (equivalent to $22,941 in 2022).[3]

After the war, Jedidiah H. Bowes served as rector for a year, followed by W.T. Helm. Using the reimbursement from the army, the chancel was carpeted and the organ replaced, as were a few of the windows damaged during the war. Moses S. Royce served as rector from 1868 until his death from cholera on June 9, 1873. During Royce's tenure, a new mission was opened on Wharf Avenue, obtaining parish status in 1872 before soon being reverted to mission status in 1876. This new mission was predominantly attended by African Americans, and members of the mission would later hold services at Holy Trinity around the turn of the century after Holy Trinity lost its parish status in 1895. The mission grew to over 100 members by 1880.[3][4]

After Royce's death in 1873, Thomas Lawson served as rector until 1877, when he was succeeded by Jesse Harrison, who served until 1883. Joseph Gray followed, serving only a year before he was succeeded by James Lytton and then Melville Moore, who served until 1886. Under the ministry of Cabell Mayo Martin, the building was finally consecrated in 1888, and in 1889 an adjacent lot was purchased for expansion.[4] Reverend John Scully served for two years after Martin's resignation in 1892, followed by the short tenure of S. B. Hillock before Holy Trinity's parish status was suspended in 1895.[3][4]

Though throughout its history the congregation of Holy Trinity had been all-inclusive, not discriminating on account of race, it wasn't until after the church's parish status was lost that the congregation officially became an African American congregation. The mission on Wharf Avenue was officially designated an all-black congregation in 1896, and by 1907 the mission had rejoined Holy Trinity, cementing this designation. Many of the congregation's members at this time were faculty and students of the recently established Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University.[4]

Rectors during this transitional period were Bacon Hillock (1895–1896), Arthur Noll (1896–1897), A.W. Cheatham (1897–1900), H.T. Walden (1900–1902), Colin Basset (1902–1903), David Wallace and Robert Morgan (1903–1904), William Allen (1904–1905), and Edward Batty (1905–1906).[4] During Batty's tenure, the Wharf Avenue property was sold, and the profits were used to renovate Holy Trinity. Reverend Arthur Coombs had served as the priest at Wharf Avenue and so held the same position at Holy Trinity after the merger, holding it for eight years until 1915.[3][4]

Between 1915 and 1928, E.M.M. Wright, C.W. Brooks, and W.A. Bruce served as rectors of Holy Trinity, followed by Reverend A. Myron Cochran, whose tenure began in 1928. During his tenure, which lasted until 1943, many students attended the church. In his notes Cochran counted 44 students from Fisk University, 15 from A and I State College, and 15 from Meharry Medical.[3] The next rector of Holy Trinity was Charles M. Johnson, who served until 1956, followed by George E. Harper and James E. Williams until 1962. In 1962, parish status was restored to Holy Trinity.[3]

Cecil H. Cowan served as rector after Holy Trinity's restoration to parish status in 1962 until 1970, followed by Crayton Thomas Dudley in 1974.[3] In the 1980s, the church began to desegregate and now about 25% of its members are white.[4] The current rector is Bill Dennler.[5]