People, Locations, Episodes

The St. James Methodist Episcopal Church, (Maryland) is Founded

St. James M. E. Church

*On this date in 1879, St. James Methodist Episcopal Church was incorporated.

Located in Oriole, Maryland, the house of worship was not built until 1885. The church community was comprised of free free Blacks and watermen who desired a place to conduct social and spiritual matters.

Over time, the congregation gradually disbanded and became too small to maintain the facility and, soon, the building was abandoned and eventually fell into poor condition. The church was restored through the efforts of the Oriole Historical Society.  While the church is known as St. James Methodist Church, the present cornerstone reads "St. James M E Church" with no obvious date. "M E" was an abbreviation for Methodist Episcopal at the time.