The Edgefield County Historical Society lists St. Mary's Church as one of Edgefield's Historic Sites. The following is their description:
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and Cemetery
Built between 1858 and 1860, primarily through the efforts of Father Timothy Bermingham, a native of Ireland, this church had the support of a number of prominent Edgefieldians, including Dr. John Harwood Burt and Dr. Elbert Bland. It was designed by Mr. John Rudolph Niernsie (1831-1885), the architect of the State House in Columbia, and built out of local granite by itinerant stonecutters and masons, under the supervision of Mr. Pat Whelan, foreman. The altars were imported from Italy. The church is one of the most significant structures of its kind in South Carolina. The adjacent cemetery contains the graves of several Confederate soldiers, including that of Dr. Harwood Burt, the father of Catholicism in Edgefield County.
For more information about the Edgefield County Historical Society, please see their website at HistoricEdgefield.com