Ridge in St. Mary's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Sodality Hall
A sodality is a society dedicated to charitable work within a church. Sodality, in the Catholic Church comes from the Latin word "Sodalis" being a organization of companions and friends.
Around 1900, after the move from St. Inigoes to St. Michael's Church, both black and white Catholics attended. It was then that Father William J. Tynan helped organize two sodalities, one for African Americans and one for whites. The African American society took the name of its patron saint, St. Peter Claver. The St. Peter Claver Sodality Hall was built on land donated by a prominent family of Benjamin Biscoe, in 1903.
It evolved, as a response to racism, which led to the majority of black Catholics to stop attending mass together. instead electing to use the St. Peter Claver Sodality Hall as a makeshift church, which became the first structure inn the Tri-County area of Maryland, in which Mass was celebrated originally exclusively for Black Catholics.
During its lifetime, the Sodality Hall was used as a social hall, a residence for the nuns, a school and a worship center. It was a social hall for the entire Black community, Catholics and Protestants alike. The Sodality stood until 1954.
Topics.
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Location. 38° 7.928′ N, 76° 22.928′ W. Marker is in Ridge, Maryland, in St. Mary's County. It is on St. Peters Clavers Road north of Sea Side View Road, on the right. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 16931 St Peters Clavers Rd, Ridge MD 20680, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern Maryland. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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 one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: In Memory of Benjamin Biscoe (here, next to this marker); Archdiocese of Washington Slavery Acknowledgement
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 11, 2026
2. Sodality Hall and Benjamin Biscoe markers
Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 11, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 11, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
