St. Philip’s was founded in 1883, in the wake of the Civil War, when members of an earlier Episcopal congregation at Dunn’s Rock (St. Paul’s in the Valley) sought a permanent place of worship to be located in the town of Brevard.
After serving primarily as a summer church for visitors from the Low Country, St. Philip’s grew throughout the first half of the 20th century and soon became a year-round church home for its ever-enlarging flock.
The original wooden frame building, located on the current site, was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day in 1925. Its replacement, the distinctive hand-cut stone church that graces Main Street, was designed by North Carolina architect Louis Humbert Asbury and built by local stone masons and woodworkers in 1926.
An example of the Normanesque Revival style prevalent in Europe at the time, it features a two-story bell tower, a marble cross over the entry door, and Gothic Revival details in the interior. We are proud to note that our church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Eventually, two additions to the church were constructed to provide a larger parish hall, reception parlor, choir rooms, classrooms and a youth activity center, with updates and renovations continuing to this day.
Life size bas relief of Saint Francis carved by Mike DeNike
