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SHARPSBURG, Md. (AP) -- For most of the American Reconstruction period following the Civil War, a one-room chapel on Sharpsburg's East High Street served as church and school for the local African American community.
As the center of religious gatherings and education for a group that included former slaves, Tolson's Chapel would have been a safe haven for the Black community, according to Edie Wallace, a historian and a past president of the nonprofit The Friends of Tolson's Chapel.
The 1866-built chapel is "probably the finest example out there from a historian and architectural historian's point of view" of the Black experience during Reconstruction, Wallace said.
The National Park Service recognized that importance and designated Tolson's Chapel a National Historic Landmark in January 2021. In the midst of a global pandemic, the honor didn't receive a ceremony at the time. But The Friends of Tolson's Chapel is hosting a dedication and unveiling of a bronze plaque with the national designation at the church this month. The park service will participate in the program.
The chapel, in 2008, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its state and local significance, according to the chapel's application to become a National Historic Landmark. The former church and school also are listed as a contributing building for the Sharpsburg Historic District listed in the national register.
The timing of the chapel's National Historic Landmark application was fortuitous as the National Park Service, which oversees the national landmark program, was looking for buildings or sites representative of the Black experience during Reconstruction, Wallace said.
The only other place in Washington County that is designated a National Historic Landmark is Fort Frederick, which received the honor in 1973, according to the historic landmarks' website. A state park, the stone fort near Big Pool was built to be part of the state's frontier defense during the French and Indian War.
The landmark designation opens the Tolson's nonprofit up to more grant opportunities and has already led to more visitors for the historic chapel, Wallace said.
A Montessori high school class from Kensington, Md., visited the chapel last year and several younger home-school classes have visited. Wallace said the Montessori educator, looking for buildings representative of the Black experience during Reconstruction, learned about Tolson's through a new website the National Park Service created about the chapel.
The educational experience for the students included a re-enactor who talked about life in Sharpsburg for the Black community and how it came together to build the chapel, she said.
The chapel is open to the public for free tours from noon to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month from April through October.