St. Thomas' Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Church in

Owings Mills Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent cit ...

, part of the Diocese of Maryland. It is noted for its historic parish church, built in 1743.

History

Construction was authorized in 1742 by the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

to provide a "Chapel of Ease" for early inhabitants of the Garrison Forest. Rev. Thomas Craddock was appointed first minister on January 14, 1745. On April 13, 1782, The Rev. John Andrews returned to Maryland from

York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...

to become rector of the church, known at the time as St. Thomas Church in Garrison Forest, a position he held until 1784. Early members included

Christopher Gist Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...

John Eager Howard John Eager Howard (June 4, 1752October 12, 1827) was an American soldier and politician from Maryland. He was elected as governor of the state in 1788, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the Continental Congress, the Congre ...

(for whom the nearby Howard County is named),

Sequoyah Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...

, and his mother, Wut-teh.

Architecture

The original building, built in 1743 of salmon red brick, was a 56 x 36 foot (17 x 11m) rectangle. Eight windows with round arch tops lighted the building, four on each of the long walls. These retain much of their original 1743 glass. There were also three similar windows on the short liturgical west wall and a small window near the peak of the roof. (The building sits on an angle, so that liturgical west is actually southwest.) The entrance was in the liturgical south wall. It had a wide, brick paved, center aisle and white

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in c ...

s, both of which remain. In the late 19th century, the door in the south wall was removed and an entrance created by removing the center window from the west wall. In 1891

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s and a small, barrel shaped,

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

were added, changing the simple rectangle into a

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

. There are lancet windows in the east end, one created by

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

depicting the

Ascension Ascension or ascending may refer to: Religion * "Ascension", the belief in some religions that some individuals have ascended into Heaven without dying first. The Catholic concept of the Assumption of Mary leaves open the question of her deat ...

. A Tiffany window was added later. The transepts have

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

s in yellow, brown, green and colourless glass. In 1970, a major restoration of the church was accomplished. This included the addition of a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

to the liturgical west, providing access both to the church and to a new basement.

Historical credentials

* A roadside plaque was erected 1936 by Maryland State Roads Commission. Inscription reads "A frontier parish church authorized by Act of Assembly 1742 as “a Chapel of Ease for the Forest Inhabitants” of Saint Paul's Parish (Baltimore). Reverend Thomas Craddock inducted as first minister January 14, 1745." *The church was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on May 24, 1979, reference number 79001117.

Graveyard

The cemetery contains the graves of many of the area's prominent people. Many date back to the 18th century, although most of the older markers are unreadable.

Notable burials

* Hetty Cary, best remembered for making the first three battle flags of the Confederacy (along with her sister and cousin). * Samuel Owings, who is buried there, was a successful miller for whom Owings Mills was named. *

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

(1871–1961), Attorney General of Maryland and quarterback of Princeton Tigers *

Sam Shoemaker Samuel Moor Shoemaker III DD, STD (December 27, 1893 – October 31, 1963) was a priest of the Episcopal Church. Samuel Shoemaker was considered one of the best preachers of his era, whose sermons were syndicated for distribution by tape a ...

, born in the parish and who helped found

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...

. * Daniel Brewster U.S Senator from Maryland.

Gallery

References

External links

* *, including photo from 1979, at Maryland Historical Trust {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Church, Owings Mills, Maryland Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Churches completed in 1743 Episcopal church buildings in Maryland Churches in Baltimore County, Maryland Georgian architecture in Maryland Anglican parishes in the Province of Maryland 18th-century Episcopal church buildings Buildings and structures in Owings Mills, Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore County, Maryland 1743 establishments in Maryland