A historic Nativity dating back 100 years returns to the lawn of the Hinton First Baptist Church for the Christmas Holiday season. The Nativity is the artwork of Ethel Hinton, the daughter of the church’s founder and wife, Silas and Mary Jane Charlton Hinton. Artist and art teacher Ethel Hinton was born in 1883 and graduated from Hollins College with an arts degree.
Professional artist Tom Acosta restored the pieces of the holy characters in the Nativity. During his restoration, Acosta found the name of Ethel Hinton on Joseph’s chest and heart. Over many years and several generations, some remember seeing the Nativity on display on the porch of the Hinton home in Avis or have been told stories about it. During the 1930s the Nativity was displayed on the lawn of the governor’s mansion in Charleston. For several years it has been placed on the lawn of Hinton First Baptist Church. The original artist died in the 1960s.
Ethel is one of the daughters in Silas and Mary Jane Hinton’s family, sister of Grace Earnest Hinton, Arthur Arundle Hinton, Blanche (Hinton) Garnett, Howard Charlton Hinton, Carl Hinton, Gladys (Hinton) Connor and Lucille Grace Hinton. This historic photo is found in Wikitree Ancestry.
