Chain of Title
Tax Map 182, Parcel 63
Deed
HB14: 62 Alice E. Hall to Vestry of St. Paul’s Parish (1 acre, $50) September 6, 1878 Property called “Mrs. Hall’s Lot”
Deed
HB14: 248 Michael Scott and Margaret A. Scott (wife), to Vestry of November 25, 1878 St. Paul’s Parish (1 acre, $0) The consideration for the land
is that the church will not use the land purchased from Alice E.Hall, land which lies near the dwelling of Michael Scott, as a burial ground. Part of tract known as Blackwell and Thomas and Audrey’s Choice.
Section 7. Description
Prepare both a one paragraph summary and a comprehensive description of the resource and its various elements as it exists today.
SUMMARY
St. Phillip’s Chapel Site and Cemetery, located in Aquasco, was the first of two Episcopal Chapels built for African Americans in Prince George’s County. The frame chapel constructed on the site c. 1880 was destroyed by fire in November 1976 according to the church history.1 From a 1938 aerial photograph, the chapel appears to have stood near the southern boundary of the property.2 The property is bordered on the east and south by woods, on the north by St.
Phillip’s Road, and on the west by a private residence with the address of 16103 St. Phillip’s Road. There is a chain link fence surrounding the property. Access to the site is through an open gate on St. Phillip’s Road. The property is mostly level, but falls off on the east toward the woods. At the northern end of the property, near the road, there is an expansive paved area which apparently served as the church parking lot. At the southwestern corner of the parking area stands the bellcote and bell which survived the 1976 fire.
DESCRIPTION
The majority of grave markers are located in the eastern half of the property, with some of recent date close to the parking area. Additional markers are located in the southwestern corner, close to the fence. There are approximately 108 marked graves and an unknown number of unmarked graves on the one-and-a-half acre property. The cemetery is in active use with the most recent grave marker dated 2007. The grave markers, grouped by family and arranged in rows, are of varying designs and materials and include concrete and marble tablets, concrete and wooden crosses, granite headstones, and granite plaques. Many of the markers are manufactured, although some appear handcrafted. A number of the oldest grave markers, located in the southeastern corner of the site, appear to have been moved or toppled. There are a number of trees on the site, with cedars predominant. Additional vegetation includes boxwood and English ivy, located in the southwestern section. Some of the graves are decorated with silk flowers.
The St. Phillip’s Chapel Site and Cemetery site retain a moderate level of integrity of location, setting, feeling, and association, the church has a loss of design, materials, and workmanship.
1 “A Brief History of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church,” available online at http://stphilipbaden.edow.org/history.htm, A more in depth description of the church can be found in Pearl, Susan G. “Maryland Inventory of Historic Places Form 87B- 012.” State of Maryland, Maryland Historical Trust. 1983.
2 . 1938 Grayscale Photography, Prince George’s County GIS, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
pgatlas.com
The cemetery retains a moderate level of integrity of location, setting, feeling, association, design, workmanship, and materials. The entire property retains the original chapel and
cemetery location, and many grave markers dating from the historic period. While threatened by nearby residential development at the intersection of St. Phillip’s and Aquasco roads, the site conveys the feeling and maintains association with the church’s historic founding nearly 130 years ago.
Section 8. Significance
Prepare a one-paragraph summary statement of significance addressing applicable criteria, followed by a narrative discussion of the history of the resource and its context. (For compliance projects, complete evaluation on a DOE Form – see manual.)
SUMMARY
The 1983 MIHP form chronicles the history of St. Phillip Chapel, also known as St. Phillip Protestant Ep iscopal Church. St. Phillip’s was a mission chapel of St. Paul’s, Baden. According to the church history, a request from the African-American communicants of St. Mary’s Chapel in Woodville for a burial grounds led to the establishment of St. Phillip’s.3 The history recounts that by February 1877 a committee at St. Paul’s had been appointed to research the matter, and that land for a cemetery and chapel was purchased from Mrs. Eliza Hall in 1878. While the date on the deed is September 6 and the purchase price recorded was $50, the church history states that the site was conveyed April 1 and the final purchase price was $137.45.
The church history notes that there was opposition in Woodville to the use of the land as a burial grounds. Michael and Margaret Scott, owners of a property west of that sold to the church by Mrs. Hall, conveyed an acre to St. Paul’s with the stipulation that the burial grounds would not be located near their house.4 The proximity of the house to the church parcel is apparent on a map of the area.5 This agreement may account for the location of the oldest section of the cemetery, on the east side of the church site in the southeastern corner of the property.
Rev. Joseph G. Bryant, an African-American deacon, joined St. Paul’s Parish in May 1879 and was later named first rector of St. Phillip’s.6 The church remained a parochial mission until 1946 when it became a diocesan mission supervised directly by the Bishop of Washington.7 After the church was destroyed by fire in 1976, the congregation leased the chapel and social hall of St.
Mary’s Church in Aquasco for its services and programs. In 1980, St. Phillip’s congregation purchased the old St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Baden, where the congregation remains today.
3 Pearl, Susan G. “Maryland Inventory of Historic Places Form 87B-012.” State of Maryland, Maryland Historical Trust. 1983.
4 Deed HB14:248, Land records of Prince George’s County.
5 1861 Martenet Map, Prince George’s County GIS, Deed HB14:248.
6 “A Brief History of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church.”
7 Record description, St. Phillip’s Church Collection, Maryland State Archives
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
St. Phillip’s is significant as the site of the first Episcopal mission for African-Americans in Prince George’s County. In the decades following the Civil War, there were a number of churches established by African-Americans in the largely rural county. Unlike many churches that later merged with other congregations, St. Phillip’s continues as an independent
congregation in Brandywine. The cemetery remains in its original location. St. Phillip’s Chapel Site and Cemetery is listed as a Historic Resource in the Prince George’s County Historic Sites and Districts Plan (1992). The St. Phillip’s Chapel Site and Cemetery site is significant for its character, interest, and value as a part of the development, heritage, and cultural characteristics of the region, and as an example of the cultural, economic, social, and historic heritage of the County and its communities. The St. Phillip’s Chapel Site and Cemetery site is also significant under National Register of Historic Places criterion A for being associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.
