St. Stephen's Episcopal Church - Crownsville MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 01.788 W 076° 39.054
18S E 357101 N 4321380
The picturesque countryside with vast fields of tobacco along the St. Stephen’s Church Road, Crownsville, in the 1840s - the site of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, was consecrated on August 14, 1845.
Waymark Code: WM15WP3
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2022
Views: 2
From the church website below in part:
"OUR HISTORY
The picturesque countryside with vast fields of tobacco along the St. Stephen’s Church Road, Crownsville, in the 1840s - the site of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The church was built on a parcel of land donated by Mr. John Reigle and clay from his land was used to build the church with bricks, which remains standing. Mr. Reigle died in 1847 and is buried in the attractive and well-maintained cemetery at the rear of the church.
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, was consecrated on August 14, 1845, by the Bishop of Maryland, the Right Reverend William Rollinson Whittingham. All the rights to Old Cross Roads Church were relinquished by the Episcopalians and sold to the Methodists for $100. The fourth rector of St. Stephen’s, the Reverend Henry R. Pyne, served from 1858 to 1861. During his last couple of years at St. Stephen’s, the general populace became quite embroiled in issues that led subsequently to the Civil War. Maryland was a state divided by allegiances to both the North and the South. The majority of parishioners were allied to the South, but the Reverend Pyne was strongly with the North and he submitted his resignation for an appointment as chaplain to a Connecticut regiment.
The Civil War led to serious economic problems when Maryland abolished slavery in 1864, with many members of the parish losing one third or more of their net worth and tobacco farmers lost a dependable source of labor. Many established families and long-time members of the Parish left to seek opportunities elsewhere. The church survived only by small donations from members, friends and supplemented by the Diocesan Missions Committee."
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