Rehoboth Presbyterian Church is a historic

Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

located at Rehoboth, Maryland in Somerset County near the

Pocomoke River The Pocomoke River stretches approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 from southern Delaware through southeastern Maryland in the United States. At i ...

and Chesapeake Bay. Founded by Francis Makemie in 1683, the Rehoboth Church is the oldest continuously Presbyterian church in America. The current church structure was built by Makemie on his own land at personal expense in 1706. The building received extensive interior modifications and rearrangement of some windows and doors in 1888, and further renovations were completed in 1956. William Stevens, an influential Somerset County citizen and member of the established

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

(attending at the nearby Coventry Parish Ruins) issued a call to the Reverend

Francis Makemie Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was an Ulster Scots clergyman, widely regarded as the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States. Early and family life Makemie was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland part of the province of Ulster. ...

(1658–1708), an

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...

clergyman who arrived in the colony and became known as the "Father of American Presbyterianism." The old church is a simple one-story

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

brick building, three bays wide by three deep, constructed about 1706. It was remodeled in 1888, and the original clear glass windows were replaced with the present leaded ones. The interior features a barrel-vault wooden ceiling, box pews with single raised panel on the ends, and a paneled gallery. A cemetery surrounds it, and several other buildings in complementary styles were erected nearby. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1974.

References

External links

*, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust

Presbyterian churches in Maryland Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Churches in Somerset County, Maryland Churches completed in 1706 Scotch-Irish American culture in Maryland 1706 establishments in Maryland 18th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, Maryland Brick buildings and structures in Maryland {{Maryland-Presbyterian-church-stub