St. Francis Xavier Church and Newtown Manor House Historic District
Encyclopedia
St. Francis Xavier Church and Newtown Manor House Historic District is a national historic district
in Compton
, St. Mary's County, Maryland. The church was built about 1766, and is a frame, rectangular building with two octagonally shaped brick additions, located on a neck of land for accessibility to early worshippers arriving by boat. It has simple Federal
woodwork and a mid-18th-century reredos. Newtown Manor House is a -story brick, five-bay brick house with a pair of interior chimneys at each gable end. The structure originally had a gambrel roof, which was raised and changed to its present shape in 1816. The district marks a location and site important in the 17th century ecclesiastical history of Maryland, as an example of a self-contained Jesuit
community made self-supporting by the surrounding 700 acres (2.8 km²) farm.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1972.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
in Compton
Compton, Maryland
Compton is an unincorporated community near Leonardtown in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The St. Francis Xavier Church and Newtown Manor House Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.-References:...
, St. Mary's County, Maryland. The church was built about 1766, and is a frame, rectangular building with two octagonally shaped brick additions, located on a neck of land for accessibility to early worshippers arriving by boat. It has simple Federal
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
woodwork and a mid-18th-century reredos. Newtown Manor House is a -story brick, five-bay brick house with a pair of interior chimneys at each gable end. The structure originally had a gambrel roof, which was raised and changed to its present shape in 1816. The district marks a location and site important in the 17th century ecclesiastical history of Maryland, as an example of a self-contained Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
community made self-supporting by the surrounding 700 acres (2.8 km²) farm.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1972.
External links
- St. Francis Xavier Church and Newtown Manor House Historic District, St. Mary's County, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
- St. Francis Xavier Church, State Route 243 Vicinity, Compton vicinity, St. Mary's County, MD: 7 drawings, 14 photos, 1 data page, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Building Survey
- St. Francis Xavier Church, Manor House, State Route 243 vicinity, Compton vicinity, St. Mary's County, MD: 4 photos, 1 data page, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Building Survey