St. Thomas' Church (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)

Last updated

St. Thomas' Church
St Thomas Front Croom Dec 08.JPG
St. Thomas' Church - Front View, December 2008
USA Maryland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location14300 St. Thomas Church Rd., near Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Coordinates 38°44′56″N76°45′24″W / 38.74889°N 76.75667°W / 38.74889; -76.75667
Area18.8 acres (7.6 ha)
Built1742
Built byPage, Daniel
Architectural styleGeorgian, Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 00001504 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 13, 2000

St. Thomas' Church is an Episcopal church in a rural setting, located at Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland. It is one of four congregations that have constituted the parish of St. Thomas in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the others including the Church of the Atonement in Cheltenham, the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, and St. Simon's Mission also in Croom.

Contents

The original church was constructed between 1742 and 1745, and is one of the earliest Episcopal churches in Southern Maryland. With the adjacent cemetery, St. Simon's Mission, and St. Simon's Cemetery, it forms part of the St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District.

History

The church was completed on December 25, 1745, and was unofficially known as "Page's Chapel," as the landowner, Daniel Page, had been contracted to erect the structure. In 1850, St. Thomas' became its own parish and undertook Gothic Revival renovations and expansion under the direction of New York City architect, John W. Priest, an associate of Andrew Jackson Downing. In 1888, the frontal bell tower was erected in memory of Bishop Thomas John Claggett, first Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church consecrated in the United States. Recent restoration work, in 1954, was based on the specifications of the original 1740s building contract, but retained Priest's Gothic Revival additions. The church is surrounded on all sides by a cemetery, which contains the graves of many prominent citizens and old county families. A fence and cast iron gate posts with Gothic designs was installed in 1907. [2]

Benedict Swingate Calvert, one of the founders of St Thomas' Church, painted by John Wollaston c1754. Benedict calvert 1754.jpg
Benedict Swingate Calvert, one of the founders of St Thomas' Church, painted by John Wollaston c1754.

One of the original founders and benefactors of St Thomas's church was Benedict Swingate Calvert (1730-1788) who was a Maryland Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland, (1699–1751), and may have been the grandson of King George I of Great Britain. His mother's identity is not known and, as he was illegitimate, he was not able to inherit his father's title or estates, which passed instead to his half brother Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (1731–1771). He spent most of his life as a politician and planter in Maryland, though Frederick, by contrast, never visited the colony. Calvert became wealthy through proprietarial patronage and became an important colonial official, but he would lose his offices and his political power, though not his land and wealth, during the American Revolution. He is buried beneath the chancel of the church along with his wife Elizabeth Calvert (1731 – 1788) and daughter Eleanor Calvert (1757/1758 – September 28, 1811). [3] [4] :22

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Contee</span> American politician (1755-1815)

Benjamin Contee was an American Episcopal priest and statesman from Maryland. He was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and member of the first United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas John Claggett</span> American bishop

Thomas John Claggett was the first bishop of the newly formed American Episcopal Church, U.S.A. to be consecrated on American soil and the first bishop of the recently established (1780) Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Bowie, Maryland)</span> Church building in Episcopal Diocese of Washington, United States of America

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Collington, Maryland is a historic place of worship dating back more than three centuries. Originally a chapel of ease for Queen Anne Parish, it became a separate parish in 1844.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James' Parish (Lothian, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. James' Parish is a historic church located on Solomons Island Road in the hamlet of Tracys Landing, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Episcopal Church (Fort Washington, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. John's Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, or St. John's Episcopal Church, Broad Creek, is a historic Episcopal church located at 9801 Livingston Road in Fort Washington, Prince George's County, Maryland. It is a rectangular Flemish bond brick structure with a bell hipped roof. The interior features a barrel vaulted ceiling with an intricate support system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Parish Church (Brandywine, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. Paul's Church, also known as St. Paul's Church, Baden, or St. Paul's Parish, Prince George's County, is located at 13500 Baden-Westwood Road, in Baden, a community near Brandywine in Prince George's County, Maryland. It was originally constructed in 1733–1735. A porch on the north side was enclosed in 1769, and in 1793 an addition of 26 by 30 feet was made to the south side. The Bishop's Window, a memorial to Bishop Thomas John Claggett, is at the chancel window. In 1921 the sanctuary was widened and the chancel deepened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John W. Coffren House and Store</span> Historic house in Maryland, United States

The John W. Coffren House and Store are two historic buildings located at Croom in Prince George's County, Maryland. This assemblage is significant for their architecture, as well as their association with the commercial history of the area and with John W. Coffren, local merchant and landowner. The Coffren House, built in 1861, has a Greek Revival entrance and interior detail. The Coffren Store, constructed ca. 1853, is a utilitarian structure, designed for use as a one-room general store. The store closed in 1945. The significance of the house and store together is that they are an intact example of house and store complexes that served rural communities in the county during the 19th century. Their builder, John W. Coffren (1828-1874), who rose from ditch digger to wealthy merchant, served on the Vestry of St. Thomas Church in Croom and on the Prince George's County School Board, as well as owning much of the property in the Village of Croom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Matthew's Church (Seat Pleasant, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. Matthew's Church, also known as Addison Chapel, is a historic Episcopal church located at Seat Pleasant, Prince George's County, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints' Church (Sunderland, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

All Saints' Church is a historic Episcopal church located at 100 Lower Marlboro Road, in Sunderland, Calvert County, Maryland. All Saint's Parish was one of the thirty original Anglican parishes created in 1692 to encompass the Province of Maryland. In 1693 its first parish church, a log structure, was built on an acre of land called Kemp's Desire donated by Thomas Hillary. This log church was expanded in 1703-1704 and repaired at least 4 times before being replaced on top of the hill between MD routes 4, 262, and 2 by the present brick building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church (Port Republic, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

The Christ Church is a historic Episcopal church located at Port Republic, Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The church is a three-bay-wide, five bays long, beige stucco covered structure featuring stained glass in most of the tall paired round-arched sash windows. It is the mother Episcopal Church of Calvert County and its oldest continually worshipping congregation. Middleham Chapel was started from this congregation as a Chapel of Ease. Christ Church Parish was one of the original 30 Anglican parishes in the Province of Maryland. Burials in the church cemetery include former U. S. Representative Thomas Parran Sr. and United States Coast Guard Admiral Merlin O'Neill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Thomas Church (Owings Mills, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. Thomas' Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Church in Owings Mills, Baltimore County, Maryland, part of the Diocese of Maryland. It is noted for its historic parish church, built in 1743.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James Church (Monkton, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. James Church is a historic Episcopal church located at Monkton, Baltimore County, Maryland, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croom, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland

Croom is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Southern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,720. Croom largely consists of former tobacco farms and forests converted to Washington bedroom subdivisions such as nearby Marlton. The main part of Patuxent River Park is in Croom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Baltimore, Maryland)</span> Historic church in Maryland, United States

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, more commonly called Old St. Paul's Church today, is a historic Episcopal church located at 233 North Charles Street at the southeast corner with East Saratoga Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, near "Cathedral Hill" on the northern edge of the downtown central business district to the south and the Mount Vernon-Belevedere cultural/historic neighborhood to the north. It was founded in 1692 as the parish church for the "Patapsco Parish", one of the "original 30 parishes" of the old Church of England in colonial Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince George Winyah Parish Church</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Prince George Winyah Parish Church is an Anglican church in Georgetown, South Carolina. Prince George Winyah is one of the oldest continuous congregations in South Carolina, and the church building is one of the oldest churches in continuous service in South Carolina. Prince George Winyah (Anglican) and Churchyard was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedict Swingate Calvert</span> American politician and judge (1722-1788)

Benedict Swingate Calvert was a planter, politician and a Loyalist in Maryland during the American Revolution. He was the son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, the third Proprietor Governor of Maryland (1699–1751). His mother's identity is not known, though one source speculates that she was Melusina von der Schulenburg, Countess of Walsingham. As he was illegitimate, he was not able to inherit his father's title or estates, which passed instead to his half brother Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (1731–1771). Benedict Calvert spent most of his life as a politician, judge and planter in Maryland, though Frederick, by contrast, never visited the colony. Calvert became wealthy through proprietarial patronage and became an important colonial official, but he would lose his offices and his political power, though not his land and wealth, during the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Calvert</span> Heiress in colonial Maryland (1731–1788)

Elizabeth Calvert was the daughter of Maryland Governor Captain Charles Calvert and Rebecca Gerard, and a wealthy heiress in colonial Maryland. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her their substantial fortune. In 1748, aged 17, she married her cousin Benedict Swingate Calvert, a Loyalist politician and planter and the illegitimate son of Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore. Benedict's connections to the ruling Calvert family allowed him to benefit from considerable proprietarial patronage, until the American Revolution saw the overthrow of British rule and the end of Calvert power in Maryland. Benedict and Elizabeth had to pay triple taxes after the war's end but, unlike many loyalists, their lands and fortune remained unconfiscated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District</span> Historic district in Maryland, United States

St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District is a national historic district located at Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland. The district encompasses four contributing buildings and three contributing sites associated with St. Thomas' Church. The other contributing buildings are the Gothic Revival style St. Thomas' Church Rectory (1852-1853), Tenant/Sexton's House, and tobacco barn. The contributing sites are the St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Cemetery, St. Simon's Mission Chapel Site, and St. Simon's Cemetery. The African-American communicants of St. Thomas' Church formed St. Simon's Mission Chapel in the late-19th century and it operated on the property associated with the Croome Industrial and Agricultural School, which operated from about 1902 to 1952.

Petersville is an unincorporated community in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Petersville is located at the junction of Maryland routes 79 and 180, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northeast of Rosemont.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Susan G. Pearl (July 2000). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Thomas' Church" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  3. Letters of George Washington Retrieved July 31, 2010
  4. Emma K. Young (October 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish Historic District" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved August 1, 2015.