St. James Episcopal Church is the oldest congregation in Wilmington, established in 1729, and the current church building — a handsome Gothic Revival structure completed in 1839 — is one of the architectural anchors of the historic district. The parish has been continuously active for nearly three centuries.
The churchyard is as interesting as the church itself. It contains graves from the 18th century through the Civil War era, including several notable figures from Wilmington's early history. Walking through it gives a compressed sense of the city's colonial and antebellum past. The interior of the church is open during daylight hours and features notable stained-glass windows and carved wooden fittings.