Zion Chapel Of Ease Cemetery stands at the center of community activity for Hilton Head Island from the Colonial era through the Revolutionary War and leading up to the Civil War.
At different times throughout these periods this cemetery existed along with a Militia Muster House, Masonic Lodge, Chapel of Ease and mausoleum. Today, only the cemetery and mausoleum remain.
The Zion Chapel of Ease, the first chapel on Hilton Head Island, completed in 1788 under the direction of Isaac Fripp and Captain John Stoney once stood at this site. The Colonial Assembly of South Carolina created St. Lukes Parish in 1767, but the Revolutionary War delayed further attempts of church construction until the mid-1780s. The chapel was re-consecrated in 1833, and then abandoned and destroyed in 1868.
Zion Cemetery contains the graves and memorials of four Revolutionary War Patriots Isaac Baldwin, James Davant, John Stoney, and Charles Davant. Charles Davant was ambushed by a Tory militia unit and was mortally wounded; he is the only known Patriot killed in action on the Island.
The Baynard Mausoleum built in 1846 by William Baynard, a wealthy Plantation owner, is the oldest extant building on our Island. Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 and designated as a site on the South
Carolina Liberty Trail in 2021.
This site is owned and maintained by The Hentage Library Foundation. Tours at this site are conducted regularly by Heritage Library docents and living history characters. For information about tours and general inquiries visit their website.
