Historic Chapel, School In Maryland Designated Historic Landmark

SHARPSBURG, MD — A plaque recognizing a 156-year-old Maryland chapel as a National Historic Landmark was unveiled for the first time over the weekend.

The plaque reveal took place Saturday afternoon at Tolson's Chapel and School in Sharpsburg with the Washington County community and representatives from the National Park Service present for the special occasion.

Dr. Cheryl LaRoche, an archaeologist, historian and author of "Free Black Communities" and the "Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance" was the keynote speaker.

The historic African American church is located in Sharpsburg on the edge of Antietam Battlefield, according to The Friends of Tolson's Chapel.

John R. Tolson, a Black Methodist preacher, organized the African American congregation in Sharpsburg in 1865, one year after slavery ended in Maryland, the National Park Service said.

Local historians say the chapel was funded and built by the newly freed Black population in and around Sharpsburg during Reconstruction in 1866 and served as a church and Freedmen's Bureau school and as the school for Black children.

According to the National Park Service, the Tolson’s Chapel congregation remained active through the early 1900s. In the 1950s, membership declined as African Americans moved out of Sharpsburg. The church was deconsecrated in 1998, two years after the death of Virginia Cook, the last surviving member.

The non-profit Friends of Tolson’s Chapel currently owns the building, which is open to the public.

The chapel was officially designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021.

Photos from Saturday's plaque unveiling: