St. James Church - Lothian MD - This Old Church on Waymarking.com

From Wikipedia

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

In 1692, St. James' Parish, Old Herring Creeke, was officially established when the Maryland General Assembly, acting on the orders of Sir Lionel Copley, Royal Governor of Maryland, enacted the Act of Establishment. That Act divided the Province of Maryland into 30 Anglican parishes. There were, however, people worshiping in the area before that time. The exact location of that church is unknown. In 1695, the vestry ordered a church built on the present site in Lothian.

In 1698, St. James' Parish opened the first parochial lending library of the American parishes of the Church of England. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray donated 118 books for the library that year.

The Reverend Henry Hall was called as the first rector, and remained at St. James' until his death in 1722. When the old church became inadequate for the parish's needs in 1763, the vestry ordered that a new church be built. It was completed in 1765, and continues to serve the congregation today. However, the politically connected curate appointed in 1768, Rev. Bennet Allen, caused a scandal by refusing to live in the parish and instead proposing to rent out the glebe and combine the salary (which he insisted insufficient even for his bar tab) with that of another parish (at first St. Anne' Church, then even further away All Saints Church (Frederick, Maryland)). The next incumbent, Rev. Walter Magowan, installed later that year, was a friend of George Washington and served until 1784.

In 1792, his successor and the seventh rector of St. James', the Rev. Dr. Thomas John Claggett, resigned to become the first Bishop of Maryland. Rt.Rev. Claggett was the first Episcopal bishop to be consecrated on American soil.

The parish founded several chapels: St. Mark's Chapel at Friendship, consecrated in 1850 and sold in 1915; The Chapel of St. James the Less in Owensville in 1853 (now Christ Church, West River); St. James' Chapel in Tracys Landing in 1876; and St. Mark's Chapel built in 1924.

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The property includes a cemetery which includes what is believed to be the oldest dated grave in the state (1655)."

(visit link)

Date the Church was built, dedicated or cornerstone laid: 01/01/1765 Age of Church building determined by?: Other reliable source If denomination of Church is not part of the name, please provide it here: Episcopal If Church holds a weekly worship service and "all are welcome", please give the day of the week: Sunday Indicate the time that the primary worship service is held. List only one: 10:00 AM Street address of Church: 5757 Solomons Island Road Lothian, MD United States 20711 Primary website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] Secondary Website for Church or Historic Church Building: [Web Link] If Church is open to the public, please indicate hours: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1) A photo of the church is required for visits to a waymark.

2) Please share some comments about your visit.

3) Additional photos are encouraged. If you can have information in addition to that already provided about this church, please share it with us.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/19/2022 Don.Morfe visited it