All Saints' History

All Saints’ was established in 1642 by Sir Thomas Gerard, a Roman Catholic, for his Anglican wife as a chapel of ease in St. Mary’s County. The first church was built on the site in 1750 and called Tomakoken Church after the nearby creek. In 1823, the Church was chartered as All Saints’ Church of King and Queen Parish. In 1893, it separated from King and Queen Parish (Christ Church, Chaptico) and became Oakley Parish. The present church building was constructed in 1846 and consecrated in 1847. “A more peaceful spot would be difficult to find than the little church and cemetery,” wrote Robert E. T. Pogue, in his book, Old Maryland Landmarks. 

In 1932, All Saints’ briefly shared a rector with St. Andrew’s, Leonardtown and Christ Church, Wayside. Wayside and All Saints’ continued to share leadership until the late 1940s. As noted above, it had full time clergy until the 1990s. 

All Saints’ Today

All Saints’ Parish sits on 91 acres of land, most of which is undeveloped. The church underwent a major renovation between 2019 and 2021. A new HVAC was installed; floors and floor joints were replaced; windows were removed, repaired, and reinstalled; and, stairs replaced and painted. The cost to repair was estimated to be $170,000 but actual costs exceeded $240,000. The condition of the building is better than it has been in decades with improvements in the foundation and walls. 

In August 2021, the church building was rededicated by Bishop Chilton Knudsen. Worship services are now held every Sunday at 11am, except the first weekend of the month, when worship services and a potluck dinner occur on Saturday at 4pm.

Parish Hall

All Saints’ parish hall was built in 1914 and comfortably seats 150 people banquet-style. It is utilized by All Saints’ and the surrounding community for celebrations of all kinds, and served as the primary place for worship during renovations to the church building.