St. James M.E. Church is a prominent landmark standing along the Oriole Road in the small community of Oriole, MD. Located at an important rural intersection, the church and cemetery are significant sites that distinguish the area. St. James is one of the more elaborate black Methodist churches in Somerset County with its three-story bell tower.
Historical significance
St. James Methodist Episcopal Church is one of eighteen historic African-American churches recorded on the Somerset County inventory, and it is architecturally important as one of the most original with relatively intact exterior and interior finishes. Unlike most of the other churches in this group, St. James has not been used since the mid 1960s, thereby freeing it from many of the modern alterations that have been made to other churches for comfort or low maintenance concerns. The building has not been altered to any significant degree since the turn of the twentieth century and it is a rare, relatively intact survivor of late nineteenth century religious architecture as embraced by rural black congregations in Somerset County.
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BACKGROUND OF ST. JAMES
Like many rural black congregations in Somerset County, the history of St. James M. E. Church is not complete. The first record of a church at this location near the head of St. Peter's Creek dates to the early 1870s when the trustees of "Manokin Chapel," as the congregation was known at the time, purchased one-half acre of land from Isaac S. and Susan H. Atkinson. The Atkinsons were owners of "Almodington" during the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century. The conveyance states that:
"the said Isaac S. Atkinson and Susan H. Atkinson his wife have granted bargained and sold and by these presents do grant bargain and sell unto the said Trustees of Manokin Chapel, their heirs and successors forever all that tract or part of a tact of land wherein said Chapel now stands, situate and laying near the head of St.Peter's Creek in Somerset County, State of Maryland."
It seems reasonable to believe that the congregation of Manokin Chapel had erected a church on this site probably within a short time prior to this transaction, and they moved to secure legal title to the land. An exact date of formation for the congregation has not been found.
Four years following this deed, the church and an adjacent school were identified on the Princess Anne district map in the 1877 Lake, Griffing, and Stevenson atlas. The congregation at "Manokin Chapel" replaced their initial church in 1885, and at the same time, the members evidently renamed the congregation, St. John's Methodist Church. Although there is no official record for this alteration in name, the marble datestone in the southwest pier is so inscribed.
Four years later, in May 1889, the congregation was reincorporated under the name of St. James Church of the Methodist Episcopal Church with Littleton Maddox, Isaac Waters, Charles Johnson, Henry Maddox, Joseph Johnson, Southy Wilkins, George Maddox, Joseph Waters, and William Coulbourn cited as trustees under the Reverend Lewis Toulson. A little over a month later, a legal conveyance including the half-acre lot and its improvements was made between the Manokin Chapel of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church and the trustees of the St. James Church of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In July 1889, the St. James congregation acquired another parcel of land from Isaac Atkinson for the purpose of erecting a parsonage.
Finally, around 1900, the congregation decided to erect a new front to their rectangular gable-front church, probably in an effort to keep up with the current fashion in religious architecture that swept Somerset County as well as the nation during the second half of the nineteenth century. In accord with Gothic design popular at the time, asymmetrical towers were built to each side of a tripartite pointed arch, colored glass window. In the process of adding the towers, the former front, double-door entrance and colored glass transom was obscured, and entrance to the church was divided between the two tower doorways. It was probably at this time as well that the balcony was erected to hold an increasing congregation. The church continued in operation until 1964, when it was closed by the Delaware Methodist Conference of which it was a part.
"the said Isaac S. Atkinson and Susan H. Atkinson his wife have granted bargained and sold and by these presents do grant bargain and sell unto the said Trustees of Manokin Chapel, their heirs and successors forever all that tract or part of a tact of land wherein said Chapel now stands, situate and laying near the head of St.Peter's Creek in Somerset County, State of Maryland."
It seems reasonable to believe that the congregation of Manokin Chapel had erected a church on this site probably within a short time prior to this transaction, and they moved to secure legal title to the land. An exact date of formation for the congregation has not been found.
Four years following this deed, the church and an adjacent school were identified on the Princess Anne district map in the 1877 Lake, Griffing, and Stevenson atlas. The congregation at "Manokin Chapel" replaced their initial church in 1885, and at the same time, the members evidently renamed the congregation, St. John's Methodist Church. Although there is no official record for this alteration in name, the marble datestone in the southwest pier is so inscribed.
Four years later, in May 1889, the congregation was reincorporated under the name of St. James Church of the Methodist Episcopal Church with Littleton Maddox, Isaac Waters, Charles Johnson, Henry Maddox, Joseph Johnson, Southy Wilkins, George Maddox, Joseph Waters, and William Coulbourn cited as trustees under the Reverend Lewis Toulson. A little over a month later, a legal conveyance including the half-acre lot and its improvements was made between the Manokin Chapel of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church and the trustees of the St. James Church of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In July 1889, the St. James congregation acquired another parcel of land from Isaac Atkinson for the purpose of erecting a parsonage.
Finally, around 1900, the congregation decided to erect a new front to their rectangular gable-front church, probably in an effort to keep up with the current fashion in religious architecture that swept Somerset County as well as the nation during the second half of the nineteenth century. In accord with Gothic design popular at the time, asymmetrical towers were built to each side of a tripartite pointed arch, colored glass window. In the process of adding the towers, the former front, double-door entrance and colored glass transom was obscured, and entrance to the church was divided between the two tower doorways. It was probably at this time as well that the balcony was erected to hold an increasing congregation. The church continued in operation until 1964, when it was closed by the Delaware Methodist Conference of which it was a part.
REFERENCES:
1. Graham, John L. The 1877 Atlases and other Early Maps of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Salisbury, Maryland: Peninsula Press, 1976.
2. Maryland Historical Trust Inventory of Historic Properties, Somerset County, S-359, Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc., Princess Anne, Maryland.
3. Somerset County Land Records, various volumes, Somerset County Courthouse, Princess Anne.
4. Telephone conversation with Ellene Bradshaw, member of the Oriole Historical Society, May 1994.
5. Touart, Paul Baker. Somerset: An Architectural History. Princess Anne, Maryland and Annapolis, Maryland: Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc. and the Maryland Historical Trust, 1990.
1. Graham, John L. The 1877 Atlases and other Early Maps of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Salisbury, Maryland: Peninsula Press, 1976.
2. Maryland Historical Trust Inventory of Historic Properties, Somerset County, S-359, Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc., Princess Anne, Maryland.
3. Somerset County Land Records, various volumes, Somerset County Courthouse, Princess Anne.
4. Telephone conversation with Ellene Bradshaw, member of the Oriole Historical Society, May 1994.
5. Touart, Paul Baker. Somerset: An Architectural History. Princess Anne, Maryland and Annapolis, Maryland: Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc. and the Maryland Historical Trust, 1990.