"Historic Old Church-1767" Saint Andrews Estates by grandmaR

St. Andrew's Parish was created from parts of the neighboring parishes of All Faith and William and Mary in 1744. The first church was called Four Mile Run chapel, built in 1703 and was then part of all Faiths parish as a chapel of ease.

This colonial style church was completed in 1767. It was designed by Richard Boulton, an indentured servant to Col. George Plater. The church is of brick and has an unusual inset portico (another one is seen in Tudor Hall in Leonardtown) and the large palladian window that surmounts the portico. On either side of the portico is a massive brick tower. Also of note is the Flemish-bond brick work, and the two statuary niches in each tower.

Sign on St. Andrew's Church road

One spring, I went on the House and Garden Tour for St. Mary's County. St. Andrews' Church was on the tour. So last fall when I started out to take photographs of foliage, I went down to St. Andrews's Church.

This is a very old historic church in the county. It is still in use - the school buildings are used on election day as poling places. For more information, see my Off the Beaten Track tip.

St. Andrews Church and graveyard

St. Andrews Estates is nothing but an ordinary ranch house type development plunked down on St. Andrews Church Rd. Most of the surrounding area is woods, swamps and farms.

• Pros:A historic church with interesting architecture
• Cons:Except the church, basically just a housing estate.
• In a nutshell:The inhabitants of the graveyard lead the most exciting lives