St. John's Episcopal Church, Frostburg, MD

A Brief History of St. John's

The Episcopal parish now in Frostburg had its humble beginnings as a mission of St. George's Episcopal Church in Mt. Savage. In the late 1840's, a stone church was erected in Eckhart at a cost of $600.00, and was given the name of St. Paul's. An Episcopal missionary, Mr. James Cole Tracy, was the first clergyperson assigned to the parish. The late Dr. M. M. Townsend was the Registrar for the tiny congregation. He was succeeded by the Rev. William Greene, deacon. In August, 1851, the Rev. John W. Nott, of Mt. Savage, began organizing the establishment of a new church building in Frostburg. In 1853, he, along with the Vestry, purchased the current building lot, then the home of a small private schoolhouse. The stone church in Eckhart was abandoned, and was torn down in 1893. The new church took the name of St. John. The first Vestry members were: Daniel C. Bruce, George Lynn, James Roberts, Charles F. Getty, Thomas Johns, Thomas Kerr, Albert C. Greene, and Joseph Skidmore.

Clergymen from St. George's continued to offer services at the Frostburg church until 1872, at which point St. John's was able to secure a rector of its own, the Rev. Samuel H. Griffin. He was succeeded in 1874 by the Rev. George S. May, in 1880 by the Rev. C. S. M. Stewart, and in 1882 by the Rev. Alexander Campbell Haverstick.

In 1890, the old wooden church structure was rolled to the back of the lot, and the foundation of the present stone church was laid. The entire church building was completed in 1892, at a cost of $6,300, including the furnishings. The church was built by local stone masons, the Hill brothers from Midlothian, who were members of the congregation. The first service was held in the new stone edifice on September 1st, 1892. In 1899, a stained glass window of St. John was received as a gift from St. John's Episcopal Church in Hagerstown, MD; this window was placed on the east wall over the altar. The church building mortgage debt was paid, and was consecrated on June 17th, 1902. The tower portion of the building was completed in 1926 as a memorial to Rev. Haverstick.

Rev. Haverstick was succeeded by:
The Rev. R. Johnston Campbell, 1905-1907
The Rev. F.C.F. Shears, 1907 - 1908
The Rev. F.M.C. Bedell, 1908 - 1913
The Rev. J. Luther Martin, 1914 - 1920
The Rev. Lewis Beaman Browne, 1920 - 1949
The Rev. Charles E. Canady, 1949 - 1951
The Rev. Charles I. Kratz, 1951 - 1957
The Rev. H. Martin Davidson, 1957 - 1967
The Rev. Jay L. Newberry III, 1967 - 1969
The Rev. Richard J. Brown, 1969 - 1975
The Rev. William R. N. Haire - 1976 - 1979
The Rev. Roy S. Turner, 1980 - 1986
The Rev. Michael Ellis, 1988 - 1997
The Rev. Ian Thomson, 2000 - 2004
The Rev. Richard M.C. Morley, priest-in-charge, 2004 - 2009
Mutual Ministry Team, 2009 - 2012:
The Rev. C. James Williams, priest
The Rev. Karen Crosby, priest
The Rev. Ruth B. Goldbloom, deacon
The Rev. Karen Crosby, priest-in-charge, 2012 - present