McColley's Chapel

McColley's Chapel is a Methodist chapel located between Ellendale and Georgetown, Delaware. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 2011.^[1]

McColley's Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	18168 Redden Road, north of Georgetown
Coordinates	38°44′34.1″N 75°25′56.3″W
NRHP reference No.	11000859[1]
Added to NRHP	November 30, 2011

Description

Front of McColleys Chapel in Sussex County, Delaware in February 2015

The property consists of a single-story church facing east-northeast, surrounded by a cemetery.^[2] The church proper is a simple wood-framed gabled structure covered in asphalt shingles, with a chancel projecting from the back and a brick chimney applied to the south side.^[2] The facade features an open pediment in the gable and a pair of windows flanking the central entrance, with a wooden sign over the door; each side also has three tall, narrow double-hung windows, with a smaller window on either side of the chancel.^[2] The interior is fitted with box pews flanking a center aisle, and a pulpit and altar, also aligned with the center line of the building. The chancel opening has plain casing surmounted by a pediment; the back wall of the altar area is ornamented by column casing supporting a dentil architrave.^[2]

The cemetery contains burials from 1860 up to 2007.^[2] Some plots are surrounded by iron railings; older tombstones are generally of marble and are hard to read. Many of the stones have elaborate low relief, but some stone are simple obelisks.^[2]

History

This is the second church building on this land, which was donated by James Rudden in 1857.^[2] The first church was built by Trustan P. McColley and was named after him; it was the oldest Methodist church in Georgetown Hundred.^[2][3] This building fell into disrepair and was destroyed in a fire sometime in the late 1890s. The current building, its replacement, was constructed in 1898.^[2] The church is still used for services and is under the Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church.^[4]

References

1. "National Register of Historic Places Listings: December 9, 2011". National Park Service. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
2. "US Route 113 North/South Study: Evaluation of NR Eligibility for Architectural Properties - Ellendale Study Area" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
3. Scharf, J. Thomas (1888). History of Delaware: 1609-1888. Vol. II. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co. p. 1239. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
4. "McColley's Chapel United Methodist Church". Peninsula-Delaware Conference UMC. Retrieved 2013-02-14.