CHoWs - By Denomination


Roman Catholic


Doughoregan Manor Chapel
near Ellicott City, MD
Roman Catholic, 1727
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!This house and chapel are not open to the public, but are quite historic. The home is still in the possession of descendants of the original owners from 1727, members of the Carroll family, including Charles Carroll (of Carrollton), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, said to have been the wealthiest signer and possibly the richest man in America when he died in 1832, aged about 95, the last surviving signer of the Declaration. I’ve seen the house from the air, but have not yet been able to photograph it.
Old Bohemia/St. Francis Xavier
Warwick, MD
Roman Catholic, 1794
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!While the date of this church is slightly later than my timeline ought to allow, its setting and appearance put it in the colonial era visually. Plus, the name alludes to an estate owned by Augustine Herman, the first Bohemian/ Czech to come to America, and my 8x great-grandfather.
Priest Neale's Mass House
near Poole, MD
Roman Catholic, 1764
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!While this is one of the most unusual religious buildings remaining from the 18th century, it’s also now a private home, and is not open to the public. Priests’ Mass Houses existed because for some decades after the settlement of Maryland (1634) the Roman Catholic church was not permitted to own land/property, so priests had to build houses with large enough central chambers for holding Mass. This may be the only one remaining from that era.
Sacred Heart
Bowie, MD
Roman Catholic, 1741
Brick
St. Francis Xavier
Compton, MD
Roman Catholic, 1767
Wood
Hold mouse here for more info!One of the few Roman Catholic churches from the Colonial English era.
St. Ignatius, Forest Hill
Forest Hill, MD
Roman Catholic, 1790
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!One of the few Roman Catholic churches from the Colonial English era.
St. Ignatius, St. Inigoes
St. Inigoes, MD
Roman Catholic, 1785
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!One of the few Roman Catholic churches from the Colonial English era.
St. Mary Star of the Sea: Tubman Chapel
Church Creek, MD
Roman Catholic, 1767
Wood
St. Thomas's Manor
Chapel Point, MD
Roman Catholic, 1741
Brick
Ft. Niagara French Chapel
Ft. Niagara State Park, NY
Roman Catholic, 1726
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!As this is on Lake Ontario at the Canadian Border, it is the farthest from all the other CHoWs (over 200 miles from any of the others). Now that it’s preserved in a state park, it’s also fixed in time – the 18th century – and yet too busy with tourists much of the time, so the colonial atmosphere is not immediately appreciable.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Conewago, PA
Roman Catholic, 1785
Stone
St. Mary's, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Roman Catholic, 1763
Brick
Hold mouse here for more info!The only big city Roman Catholic church from the colonial era.
St. Paul's Chapel
Bally, PA
Roman Catholic, 1743
Stone
Hold mouse here for more info!Only the easternmost tiny portion of this structure dates back to the colonial era. It’s another rare Roman Catholic church from the colonial era.


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