St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church and Joshua Thomas Chapel is a historic Methodist Episcopal church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 complex located at Deal Island

Deal Island, Maryland

Deal Island is a census-designated place in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. The population was 578 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Somerset County

Somerset County, Maryland

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*53.5% White*42.3% Black*0.3% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.5% Other races*3.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. The complex consists of St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, an 1879 frame Gothic

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 building; Joshua Thomas Chapel, an 1850 Greek Revival

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

 frame structure; and the surrounding cemetery with 19th and 20th century burials and markers. The church features a three story bell tower

Bell tower

A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...

. The chapel is the oldest site in Somerset County in continuous use for Methodist meetings, which began in tents in 1828.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1990.

External links

• St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church & Joshua Thomas Chapel, Somerset County, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust