St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Washington, DC
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neoc1
N 38° 56.806 W 077° 00.722
18S E 325636 N 4312794
The Georgian style St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located in Rock Creek Cemetery at the intersection of Rock Creek Church Road and Webster Street, NW in Washington, DC.
Waymark Code: WM15HTX
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2022
Views: 0
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was founded in 1712 in what was then Prince George's County, MD. A wooden church was built in 1719 and in 1721 a brick church was built on the present site. The present church was built in 1775 in the Georgian style. In 1810, the church was rebuilt. The church was remodeled in 1853. In 1921 it was damaged by fire and once again restored.
The façade of the red brick structure has a protruding bell tower. A set of steps leads up to the entrance at the base of the tower. Above is a plaque with the church's name and a circular window. The tower is topped with an hexagonal belfry with louvered windows and a tapered roof with a Latin cross on top. The sides of the bell tower have narrow two story high windows with rounded tops.
The main block of the church has a hip roof and a pair of matching windows flanking the bell tower. The sides are three bays wide, each with matching windows.
A bronze plaque on the façade of the church provided additional history: It is inscribed:
ST PAUL'S. EPISCOPAL
HERE, THE FIRST CHURCH EDIFICE WITHIN
THE FUTURE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WAS
ERECTED IN 1719; "A CHAPEL OF EASE" OF ST.
JOHN'S CHURCH, BROAD CREEK. IT WAS BUILT
OF WOOD WITH EARTHEN FLOOR. THE 100 ACRE
TRACT NAMED "GENEROSITY" (COMPRISING THE
CHURCH GROUNDS AND ROCK CREEK CEMETERY)
WAS A GIFT OF VESTRYMAN JOHN BRADFORD.
IN 1771. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ASSESSED THE
PARISH 96,000 POUNDS OF TOBACCO FOR A
BRICK STRUCTURE, WHICH WAS COMPLETED AFTER
THE REVOLUTION PARTIALLY DESTROYED BY
FIRE 1921, WAS IMMEDIATELY REBUILT.
INCORPORATING THE ORIGINAL BRICK WALLS.
ROCK CREEK PARISH WAS ESTABLISHED 1856
MARKER ERECTED BY
NATIONAL SOCIETY, COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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