Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-14
ny John CLAGETT PROCTOR.

~ NE of the classes of historic
buildings which always APP
ueals to the visitors to large
degree is the churches OF the
place he is visiting, and no.
where In our country will one come
across so large a number OF historic
r1laces of worship as in Washington or
the Episcopal faith, there are several
buildings standing in and around wash
incton which have served for more than
a century.
ct pauTs-or Rock Greek Church, as it
* generally called-is the oldest. Older
thsn the District of Columbia, older
than Montgomery County. and undoubt-
edlv one of tbs most interesting Of the
churches hereabout. st. Pauls church
row in Rock Greek Parish, was in the
early DAYS the parish church Of Prince
Georges Parish, which then included
all the territory between the Potomac
and the Patuxent Rivers and the north
east fork of the Eastern Branch and eX-
tending indefinitely west.
The first Episcopal service held, in
what is now the District of Columbia
took place in the Spring of l7l2, and
the clergyman. the Rev. John FRASER.
as the following minutes of April 81,
1912 show:
ordered that the Reverend John
FRASER preach in the East Branch
Hundred once in a month upon Sun
DAYS till We next Vestry and to begin
next SABBATH day Come three weeks"
On the following June u. the vestry
adopted the following resolutions:
"Ordr that We Revd. Jno. FRASER
preach at the East Branch Church once
a month upon Sundays. Its farther
ordered that the 5th Of November next
it, shall be Debated in full VeStry and
put to the Vote Whether he be to Con-
Time rs above appointed or preach
oftener in We said East branch hundred"
So capable and efficient man was
the Rev. Mr.. FRASER and so we'll was
his work performed, that on September
IA 1910. he called a meeting of the
inhabitants of st. Johns Parish for the
purpose of raising funds for building
chapel in the Eastern Branch and Rock
Greek hundreds. and for determining
a proper place for its erection. At this
meeting the principal donor was Col.
John Bradford. Gent, OF Prince georges
County. who gave one thousand POUNDS
of tobacco and one hundred acres OF
land called Generosity" which today
constitutes what is known as the glebe
of the Rock Creek Parish.
IS pounds in money were subscribed at
this meeting. and frame chapel prob
ably. built of logs, was soon in readiness
for divine service. From the fact that
a gallery was ordered built in 1735, this
building was evidently not so small as
one might otherwise assume.
Col. Bradford, it seems. neglected the
important formality of deciding over to
the church authorities the 100 acres OF
land pledged by him, and his wife and
son were later called upon to do So and
complied with the request. The minutes
of the veStry of December Is, 1925, has
this to say on the subject:
"Fryday, December the 18th, 1926.
1.-THE gentlemen of the Vestry met &C
cording to appointment tall presen)
and agreed to allow VIM. Jackson
Eight hundred pound of Tobacco p
Annum for being Register, and like
wise ordered that Letter should be
forthwith sent to Mr. John Bradford
desiring the favor of him to meet them
at the Parish Church on the Sd day
of January 1851 about the land the
Parish Church stands on, to make 1t
over"
THIS building remained standing for
u so years, when, in 1853, under the
rectorship of Rev. Alexander William
son, an order for erecting the second
church was passed. but which was not
completed at the breaking out of the
Revolutionary War, in 1875. Mr.. Arthur
S. Brown, in his we'll written work
on the origin of the Protestant Epis- |
copal Church in the District of Co. |
lumbia. tells us that the church was |
remodeled in 1868 to the extent of add
ing recessed chancel on the north, |
removing the gallery and frightening
windows Otherwise" he says, "the
building is now substantially the same
as in IT'S"
According to researches made by
Rev. James A. Buck, D. D., who was
rector of this parish from 1852 until
his death. September 4, 1897. the Sec
ond or brick church, was building
40 by so feet, with 25-foot ceiling
It is further said by the same au-
thority that the building remained for
many years without a roof and for
many more without either floor or
ceiling. In 1920 the veStry felt that
the church building was too large for
the accommodation of the surrounding
population and concluded to erect an
inside church, and proceeded to avail
themselves of ledge in the walls, IL
feet from the floor, left for a gallery
Orders some 40 feet long we're pro-
cured and stretched across and then
lathed and plastered, and from the
west end 20 feet was cut off for
lecture and schoolroom. Thus they