Tolson’s Chapel

(Library of Congress)

In October 1866, when black residents of Sharpsburg laid the cornerstone of this chapel, they were making a commitment to the future of the community. Just four years after the Civil War battle at Antietam and Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and two years after Maryland abolished slavery in a new constitution, they pooled their meager resources and built an institution. In October of 1867 the Methodist congregation dedicated their church and, in choosing the name, honored their first minister, John Tolson. By 1868, with the help of the Freedmen’s Bureau, they established a school in the building. Teacher Ezra Johnson taught eighteen students on weekdays and additional adults at night in the American Union School held in the chapel. He also started a Sabbath School and a temperance organization. Between 1870 and 1871, operation of the school shifted from the Freedmen’s Bureau, which Congress dismantled, to the state of Maryland. The building continued its dual purpose until 1899, when students and teacher moved to a new building on High Street. David Simons, and then his son, James F. Simons taught at the county-operated school and are buried in the Tolson’s Chapel cemetery.

Over time, the congregation dwindled and died out as its members aged or moved away for job opportunities. Recognizing the historic and cultural value of the chapel, local Methodists, the Town of Sharpsburg, the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, and others banded together to preserve the structure. Volunteers formed the Friends of Tolson’s Chapel and are continuing to raise funds for additional restoration and maintenance.

Resources

• Friends of Tolson’s Chapel brochure, 2007.

Interest-African American, Washington County, >African-American, >AF Washington County, Maryland