History of St. James

St. James Church was founded in the parlor of Col. Stephen Harriman Long's home on May 23, 1842. Col. Long and several other leaders of the church had come to Marietta as officials or civil engineers of the railroad being built through the town. Many of them were Episcopalians who, along with other residents, felt the need for a church. One of these residents, was William Root, a druggist and merchant, asked that the church be called St. James after his home church in Philadelphia. Col. Long gave the property where the church now stands. The Rt. Rev. Stephen Elliott, Bishop of Georgia, gave his blessing to the enterprise and promised $1,000 (half the cost of construction) toward the building and $250 for half the rector's yearly salary. The bishop expressed his purpose to make St. James a missionary center, "whence missionaries shall emanate into the Cherokee country."

By October 1842, the walls of the 40 by 50-foot church were rising, and it was a time to lay the cornerstone. No proper stone was available, "nor one easy to be had," however, so a bottle filled with appropriate articles was used for construction. The building was finished, and Bishop Elliott opened the doors and consecrated it on Palm Sunday, April 9, 1843.

The church grew but faced hardships during and immediately after the Civil War. In January 1964, a boiler room fire destroyed much of the original church building. The church was rebuilt three years later on the same footprint as the original location back in 1843. Today, St. James congregation of 600 members is involved in community activities ranging from Wonderful Days Preschool for low-income families to providing monthly meals to the Women's Extension.

Past Rectors of St. James

Thomas Fielding Scott (1842-1851)

James Stuart Hanckel (1851-1853)

Barnard Elliott Habersham (1853-1857)

Samuel Benedict (1858-1867)

John James Hunt (1868-1869)

William Eston Eppes (1870-1874)

Stephen Elliott Barnwell (1874-1879)

Samuel Johnson Pinkerton (1879-1883)

Clarence C Leman (1883-1887)

George P Hebbard (1887-1889)

Landon Randolph Mason (1890-1891)

Charles Tomes Allison Pise (1891-1904)

Thomas Monduit Nelson George (1905-1908)

Charles Noyes Tyndall (1908-1910)

Edward Slade Doan (1910-1913)

Randolph Royall Claiborne (1913-1924)

Herbert Frederick Schroeter (1925-1925)

Robert George Tatum (1926-1930)

Charles Edgar Wood (1931-1942)

 James Savoy (1943-1944)

Joseph Thomas Walker (1944-1968)

Thomas Stewart Matthews (1968-1973)

Charles Scott May (1973-1996)

Karen P. Evans (1998-2009)

Roger D. Allen (2009-2022)