From the National Register of Historic Places Registration
SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY:
Christ Episcopal Church is significant for its architecture,
which embodies the evolution of a typical parish church in
Maryland's rural southern region. Its construction in the
eighteenth century and subsequent remodeling reflect the effects of
changing religious and economic forces on the area through the mid
eighteenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth century.
Christ Episcopal Church was built in response to legislation passed
in 1692 by the province of Maryland, an "Act for the Service of
Almighty God and the Establishment of the Protestant Religion
Within Maryland," which created a church supported by taxes. This
law remained in effect until the Revolutionary War. Less than
probably a dozen Episcopal churches built using the tax money still
exist in southern Maryland. Following the Revolution, its English
associations rendered the Episcopal Church unpopular, and
membership declined precipitously in the area. Church buildings,
lacking regular use or maintenance, fell into decline until a
concerted campaign for reorganization and reconstruction was waged
by the diocese in the 1830s. Christ Episcopal Church exemplifies
this trend. Notably the interior was reconfigured, although the
original form is still identifiable. Notable change was made in
the entrances to emphasize one central entrance. In 1916, further
remodeling was made with the addition of the entrance and bell
tower which brought the church architecturally in line with a new
interest in the state's history and heritage. Many buildings were
renovated in a fashion to reflect popular concepts of our colonial
period architecture.
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