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Georgetown Hundred in Sussex County, Delaware — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

McColley's Chapel

 
 
McColley's Chapel Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Pete Skillman
1. McColley's Chapel Marker
Inscription. McColley's Chapel was built and dedicated in 1858 as a Methodist Church. Congregation members had previously worshipped in a small house on the opposite side of the road. James Redden, a member of the board of trustees, sold the property to the church in 1857 for one dollar. The original church building was constructed through the efforts of Reverend Truston P. McColley, a prominent farmer and businessman, who served as the first minister of the church. Initially a member of the Southern Methodist Church, McColley's Chapel joined the Ellendale Charge in 1873. In 1898 a new chapel was constructed on the same site after a fire destroyed the original structure. The Chapel remains much the same today as when it was built. It exemplifies the stylistic expression of 19th century Colonial Revival architecture and is typical of 18th and 19th century Methodist meeting houses which were all virtually identical in size, shape, massing, and scale. The design reflects Methodist beliefs of the era that chapels should be "built plain and decent, but not more expensive than is absolutely unavoidable." McColley's Chapel was placed on the
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National Register of Historic Places in 2011 and continues to serve the spiritual needs of the community.
 
Erected 2012 by Delaware Public Archives. (Marker Number SC-231.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureReligion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Delaware Public Archives, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.
 
Location. 38° 44.578′ N, 75° 25.93′ W. Marker is near Georgetown, Delaware, in Sussex County. It is in Georgetown Hundred. It is on McColleys Chapel Road (County Road 213) just south of Redden Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 18168 Redden Rd, Georgetown DE 19947, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Mid-Atlantic and on the Delmarva Peninsula. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland, one
McColley's Chapel image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Pete Skillman
2. McColley's Chapel
of the original Thirteen Colonies, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hebron Methodist Protestant (M.P.) Church (approx. 3.1 miles away); Hebron Methodist-Protestant Church and Cemetery (approx. 3.1 miles away); William C. Jason Comprehensive High School (approx. 3.4 miles away); Delaware Technical and Community College (approx. 3.4 miles away); Sand Hill Church (approx. 4 miles away); Chaplain's Chapel United Methodist Church (approx. 4.2 miles away); Georgetown Presbyterian Church (approx. 4.2 miles away); Georgetown Train Station (approx. 4.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Georgetown.
 
Also see . . .  McColley's Chapel - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form.
Located at the intersection of McColley’s Chapel Road (RD 213) and Redden Road (SR 40) in Georgetown Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, McColley’s Chapel is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C as a well preserved example of the once common Methodist meeting house that was constructed
McColley's Chapel Sign Above Main Entrance image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Pete Skillman
3. McColley's Chapel Sign Above Main Entrance
throughout Delaware in the late eighteenth through the nineteenth century. The first church on this site was built in 1858, and the current building was constructed in 1898 after the first church burned.
(Submitted on April 23, 2025, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 515 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on October 18, 2022, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware.
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Jul. 17, 2026