Dahlgren Chapel is located at the summit of

Turner's Gap Turner's Gap is a wind gap in the South Mountain Range of the Blue Ridge Mountains, located in Frederick County and Washington County, Maryland. The gap is traversed by U.S. Route 40 Alternate, the old National Pike. The Appalachian Trail al ...

Western Maryland upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland panhandle or Mountain Maryland, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washing ...

between Middletown and Boonsboro. The

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

stone chapel was built in 1881 and consecrated as the Chapel of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Most of the building materials came from the immediate area of the site, while a marble altar was imported from Italy. The chapel was built for Sarah Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, daughter of Congressman

Samuel Finley Vinton Samuel Finley Vinton (September 25, 1792 – May 11, 1862) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from March 4, 1823 to March 3, 1837 and again from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1851. Biography Born in South Hadley, M ...

, who had married Admiral John A. Dahlgren, inventor of the

Dahlgren gun Dahlgren guns were muzzle-loading naval guns designed by a United States Navy Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren (November 13, 1809 – July 12, 1870), mostly used in the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental ...

, in 1865. Admiral Dahlgren died in 1870. Mrs. Dahlgren purchased a former tavern on South Mountain at Turner's Gap as a summer retreat, naming it Dahlgren Manor. The chapel was built across the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

from the house. When Mrs. Dahlgren died in 1898, she was interred in the chapel's family crypt. After a period under the ownership of the

Sisters of the Holy Cross The Sisters of the Holy Cross are one of three Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregations of nuns, religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by Basil Moreau in Le Ma ...

from 1922 to 1925 the chapel returned to the Dahlgren family. It was purchased in 1960 by Richard G. Griffin, who undertook a restoration. The property was acquired by the Central Maryland Heritage League in 1996. The chapel is included in the

Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District The Turner's and Fox's Gaps Historic District comprises the Civil War-era battlefield involved in the Battle of South Mountain, which took place on September 14, 1862. The district extends on the west to the slopes of South Mountain in the ar ...

, but as a non-contributing structure, owing to its post-Civil War construction, which places it outside the historic district's time of historic emphasis.

References

External links

Dahlgren Chapel website
{{authority control Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore Churches in Frederick County, Maryland Religious organizations established in 1881 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1881 establishments in Maryland Roman Catholic churches completed in 1881 Roman Catholic chapels in the United States