The congregation at Trinity, one of the oldest Methodist congregations in
Durham, was founded in 1832. They were known as the Orange Grove Church and later as the Durham Methodist Church. In 1861, they purchased the current plot of land and built a small pine wood church that sat two hundred people. The church was damaged during
Sherman's March to the Sea during the
American Civil War. The building was temporarily used as a military hospital for wounded soldiers and, after the war, was used a women's seminary. In 1881, a new building was built to house the growing congregation. In 1886, the church was renamed Trinity Methodist Church. A group of congregants established
a new church on Main Street in the West End neighborhood. On January 21, 1923, the church was destroyed in a fire. The current building was constructed in 1924, designed by the architect
Ralph Adams Cram, who had previously designed
St. Philip's Episcopal Church. The steeple was added in 1985. == References ==