Mary Jenkins Community Praise House, Plantation-era worship building in St. Helena Island, South Carolina

The Mary Jenkins Community Praise House is a narrow, one-story frame building with a gable roof and its entrance set in the gable end, standing on St. Helena Island near Frogmore. It is one of four known surviving African-American praise houses on the island and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The building remains in use.

Built around 1900 by Kit Chaplin, the praise house is one of four remaining structures of its kind from the post-plantation era on St. Helena Island. It represents religious independence that the community established after slavery.

The building is one of four known surviving African-American praise houses on St. Helena Island, a type of small meeting house that served enslaved and later free communities. It remains in use, and the name honors Mary Jenkins, a community member. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The praise house is located on Eddings Point Road on St. Helena Island and continues to function as an active worship and community meeting space. Visitors should be respectful, as this remains a place where the community regularly gathers.

A bell at the praise house has traditionally announced important community moments, from births to deaths to calls for worship services. This simple signaling system has linked residents together for many decades.