The acre lot on which the church was built was deeded to the "'Colored Methodist Episcopal Church' called 'John Wesley's Chapel,'" by Luke P. Barber in 1868. The Barbers had extensive land holdings. That particular piece was part of a large acreage known as "Barber's Enclosure."

Although no records have yet been found for this chapel, much can be deduced from its short deed. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church was formed in 1866 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, thus the deed provides a clue that nearby Bethel Church had already joined that organization by 1868. The people who first worshipped at John Wesley Chapel probably were either former members of Bethel, or former slaves in the Barber household who had been given land for a chapel prior to 1868. The deed, as was also true of deeds for other black churches in the immediate post Civil War period, did not mention erecting a church; in fact it indicated that the church was already located on the lot. Mr. Barber, a member of a staunch Methodist family, may well have erected a church of that persuasion for his slaves. (The previous year a lot on Barber's Enclosure had been deeded to trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. That church, if indeed one was ever built there, seemingly has disappeared without a trace. Recently a hiker reported having seen another old cemetery in the vicinity of John Wesley Chapel.)

[It is unclear what year and where the hiker found another old cemetery. In 1899, per St. Mary's County Land Records liber folio EAB 1/147 - Trustees of John Wesley Chapel, jointly with Mt Calvery & Galilee, purchased another acre from the Davis' property. As of 6/30/2000, both the AME Church acre from Barber's Enclosure & second acre for John Wesley Chapel are of uncertain location; therefore, the hiker might also have found this additional John Wesley Chapel and/or graveyard property.]

The trustees on the original deed for John Wesley were: John Jackson, Charles Thomas, Moses Queen, Walter Yates, John Young, Gustavus Brown and Henry Brown. In 1899 another deed, apparently for parsonage land bought jointly with the other two churches on the circuit, Mount Calvary and Galilee, Lists Moses Queen, William Toyer, Emanuel Toyer, Benjamin Jackson and John Boone as trustees for John Wesley.

When the St. Mary's Larger Parish was formed in 1942, John Wesley was still in use, but even with the strengthening effect of that group, the church continued to fail. Local residents think it was closed in the early 1950s. Some of the existing grave markers are of that period. There were at least two church buildings erected on the lot.

John Wesley's is an endangered graveyard, desperately in need of restoration.

Note: Saint Paul's United Methodist in Leonardtown was formerly known as Methodist Meeting House and/or Wesley Chapel. The Wesley Chapel in Leonardtown has not been used as a church since its sale in 1874. This is a different church than the John Wesley Chapel in Chaptico (Mechanicsville in Wicomico Shores). However, you may reference the Leonardtown Wesley Chapel at pages 30 & 31 from "A History of Methodist Churches in St. Mary's County, Maryland"

[Small print notations inserted by POWSA.]