St. Margaret’s Church, whose clapboard sanctuary building stands proudly on Broadneck Peninsula just north of Annapolis, Md., is one of the oldest continuously operating congregations in America. The parish was established as Broade Necke (Broad Neck) parish in 1692. The Broadneck Peninsula is bounded on the north by the Magothy, on the south by the Severn, and its tip juts into the Chesapeake Bay.
The congregation has worshipped in five church buildings over the years. The founding Anglican settlers shared the Puritans’ Old Meeting House on the banks of the Magothy. By 1695 the first church was built in today’s Cape St. Claire. The second building was built in 1731 on the banks in Winchester Heights (Severnside) on the Severn River.
That building burned in 1803, and it wasn’t until May 1827 that a new frame church was built on land occupied by St. Margaret’s today – closer to the center of the Broadneck Peninsula.
Only 24 years passed (1851) before that building, too, was razed by fire. The congregation again rebuilt, on the same site, but this time they used brick. Even that wasn’t enough. The building was damaged by yet another severe fire in 1892, and was rebuilt as a white, clapboard structure using footers of the previous building.
That building served St. Margaret’s well until 1986 when the structure had to be renovated and expanded. Today St. Margaret’s occupies a 10-acre campus that includes a preschool education building attached to the church (built 1958), a parish hall (1970) and an administration building (former rectory converted in 1996). Construction began in 2014 on a new formation building that was opened in September 2015.
The history of a church is more than a history of its buildings. St. Margaret’s has grown from serving a circle of hardy settlers to more than 1,000 contemporary parishioners and day school families. Suburban tracts surround the church instead of tobacco plantations and wheat farms.
St. Margaret's Historical Profile
St. Margaret's Historical Visit to Whitehall Cemetery
St. Margaret's Sunday School Building History
Mack's Memories
Mack's Memories is a series of articles written by Folger McKinsey (Mack) Ridout, Sr. (September 19, 1925 — April 11, 2011) appearing from 1995 — 1996 in St. Margaret’s print newsletter THE SPIRE.
For more information on St. Margaret's history, go to www.stmargaretsarchives.org.
The congregation has worshipped in five church buildings over the years. The founding Anglican settlers shared the Puritans’ Old Meeting House on the banks of the Magothy. By 1695 the first church was built in today’s Cape St. Claire. The second building was built in 1731 on the banks in Winchester Heights (Severnside) on the Severn River.
That building burned in 1803, and it wasn’t until May 1827 that a new frame church was built on land occupied by St. Margaret’s today – closer to the center of the Broadneck Peninsula.
Only 24 years passed (1851) before that building, too, was razed by fire. The congregation again rebuilt, on the same site, but this time they used brick. Even that wasn’t enough. The building was damaged by yet another severe fire in 1892, and was rebuilt as a white, clapboard structure using footers of the previous building.
That building served St. Margaret’s well until 1986 when the structure had to be renovated and expanded. Today St. Margaret’s occupies a 10-acre campus that includes a preschool education building attached to the church (built 1958), a parish hall (1970) and an administration building (former rectory converted in 1996). Construction began in 2014 on a new formation building that was opened in September 2015.
The history of a church is more than a history of its buildings. St. Margaret’s has grown from serving a circle of hardy settlers to more than 1,000 contemporary parishioners and day school families. Suburban tracts surround the church instead of tobacco plantations and wheat farms.
St. Margaret's Historical Profile
St. Margaret's Historical Visit to Whitehall Cemetery
St. Margaret's Sunday School Building History
Mack's Memories
Mack's Memories is a series of articles written by Folger McKinsey (Mack) Ridout, Sr. (September 19, 1925 — April 11, 2011) appearing from 1995 — 1996 in St. Margaret’s print newsletter THE SPIRE.
For more information on St. Margaret's history, go to www.stmargaretsarchives.org.
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