St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

About Us

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR CHURCH

The first settled clergyman in Clear Spring was The Reverend Joshua Peterkin.  He began holding services here in December 1839, in the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Our present church building was begun early in 1840, and was consecrated by Bishop Whittingham on November 6 of that year.  The original vestry book contains the following first entry:

“Easter Monday, 12 April 1841, being an inclement day and the parishioners not assembling at the church, the annual election for vestrymen was held on Thursday evening, 15th April, and nine gentlemen were elected.”

Perhaps the most famous of the nine was Lancelot Jacques, the grandson of the man of the same name to whom the original tract of land known as Indian Spring District, encompassing some 27,000 acres, was granted by Lord Baltimore in 1730.

This church continued as a place of worship until it was partially destroyed during the Civil War.  The congregation considered building a new church, but then decided to repair the original church, and set about doing so in 1870.  From that date to the present, this church has continued as the regular place of worship for Episcopalians in the town of Clear Spring and the surrounding areas.  In 1978 the old parish house was sold and a new parish hall was built behind the church. It was named Perry Hall as a tribute to Miss Ruth Perry, and was dedicated on April 23, 1978 by Bishop David Leighton.

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Last modified: December 28, 2006