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In 1868, for the sum of five dollars ($5.00), white land owners, William and Henrietta Minnix, agreed to sell three-tenths of an acre of land to Thomas Queen, Thomas Matthews, Ferdinand Key, James Powell, Knotley Johnson, and Henry Edwards on which to build a place of worship for “colored people’ of the Muirkirk community. The small parcel of land was also the site of the pre-Civil War cemetery for the slaves and free blacks in the community. By 1870, a log structure, known as Queen Chapel, was erected.

Families within the community during the formative years of Queen Chapel included Thomas and Samuel Matthews, Caleb and Elizabeth Briggs, Matilda and Nathan Brewer, Philip and Mary E. Williams, Augustus Ross and Sarah Harrison Ross, Melvin and Charlotte Lewis, Joseph and Priscilla Harrison, Luke Warner, Thomas and Lucy Snowden, and Israel and Henry Crump. These early residents, their children, and later their descendants formed the nucleus for the Queen's Chapel church family.

Once established, Queen's Chapel became part of the Bladensburg Circuit of the Potomac District within the all-black Washington Conference. Rev. William H. Draper (1868-1870) was its first pastor. Records indicate that there were five churches on this circuit.

During the ministry of Rev. McHenry Naylor (1890-1893), plans were initiated to join Queen's Chapel with St. Mark's the newly organized mission congregation in the Laurel community. In 1893, his efforts were successful., and the Laurel Charge was established. By 1895, Bacon's Chapel (now known as Mt. Zion), formerly a CME congregation, became part of the Charge.

In 1899, the log cabin chapel was struck by lightning and totally destroyed. Rev. Moses Lake (1899-1902) and the elders of Queen's Chapel began the task of building a new church edifice. During the interim, services were held at Abraham Hall. Charles Coffin, owner of the Muirkirk Furnace and the community's major employer, agreed to lend the church the money to rebuild provided he was allowed to choose the style of the new structure. The new edifice was a white-frame structure built of Georgia pine. The cornerstone of the new church was laid in 1901.

In 1909, during the ministry of Rev. Angold Brown (1908-1910), Queen's Chapel completely repaid its loan to Charles Coffin. On December 1, 1909, Rev. Brown writes: "Muirkirk is clear of debt. The last cent of indebtedness was paid this month to Mr. Coffin." In the ensuing years, Queen's Chapel made improvements to the frame structure. Modern lighting, two choir rooms, a choir loft, stained glass windows, and an electric organ were added to enhance the structure and the church's ministries. And in 1929, the church enlarged its graveyard by one acre of additional land.

Through the visionary leadership of Rev. Levi Miller (1945-1950), the people of Queen's Chapel began an eleven-year struggle to build a new edifice to meet the needs of its growing congregation. Under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Haskins (1953-1960), the cornerstone of the new church edifice was laid on September 19, 1953.

Rev. John E. Evans (1960-1969) and the Rev. John L. Winters (1960-1980) oversaw the changes in the governing and program bodies of the local church from the Official Board to the Administrative Board and Council on Ministries. Under the leadership of Rev. Basha P. Jordan (1980-1983) and Rev. Leon C. Kess, Jr. (1983-2000), the Queen's Chapel membership substantially increased new ministries were introduced to meet the needs of it growing diverse congregation.

In 1985, it became evident that Queen's Chapel had again outgrown its present facilities. In 1987, the church purchased 5.5 acres of land from PEPCO.  The congregation then began to explore construction of a new edifice, or renovation of its current structure.  A strong desire to build a new sanctuary and educational complex was evident from the beginning.  Under the umbrella of Long Range Strategic Planning, a broad-based committee was organized.  In 1992 a Building Committee was set apart from the Strategic Planning process.  In 1993 the Building Committee selected the theme “WhenGod Gives A Vision . . . All Things Are Possible”.

With the arrival of Rev. Dr. Bruce F. Haskins in August 2000, the church took on new growth. In part because of that substantial growth, as well as our new pastor’s health, on February 11, 2001, Queen's Chapel moved its worship to the Martin Luther King. Jr. Middle School.

On Heritage Sunday, April 29, 2001, the Potomac Capitol Investment, Inc. formally donated land towards the expansion of the church cemetery and made a financial gift of $75,000 to Queen's Chapel towards our building fund.

Resurrecting the building program and moving it forward proved to be the congregation’s greatest challenge during Rev. Haskins tenure.  While enthusiasm for the building effort was rekindled with a “new attitude” and while there were recognizable successes, the project continued to face considerable obstacles. In 2002, the congregation decided to build the complex in phases, with the sanctuary as the first phase.  In September 2002, the Building Fund surpassed the $1 million dollar mark.  In 2003 the pledge campaign continued, and in June a capital campaign feasibility study was conducted.  At a special congregational meeting on July 23, 2003, the congregation considered four options for building the complex.  It was decided to reduce the size of the sanctuary in order to reduce the overall cost of Phase I to $3.2 million dollars. After obtaining a loan package and celebrating a ground breaking in 2004, the project faltered. In the ensuing years, the project has moved slowly, but in 2007 the church successfully completed much of the permit process.  While we are presently in mediation with the project’s architectural firm, the pastor and congregation remain steadfast in their faith and vision. 

In March 2007 after seven years of dedicated service, Rev. Haskins was tapped by Bishop John R. Schol to serve an appointment at the Conference level. On Sunday July 1, 2007 we welcomed and celebrated the appointment of Rev. B. Kevin Smalls as our new pastor.  Rev. Smalls received his call to ministry at the early age of fourteen.  At that time he promised God that he “would live his life as one who would bring the joy of the Lord to His church and to His people.” Rev. Smalls brings to Queen’s Chapel a style of ministry that is both traditional and contemporary.  Since his arrival, Rev. Smalls has become an instrument of active and positive change in the life of Queen’s Chapel, in order to move our congregation forward spiritually, as well as to fulfill its vision to build the new edifice.  He is particularly focused on strengthening and expanding the spiritual growth and participation in ministry of our youth and young adults.

Forged in faith, for 139 years, Queen's Chapel has stood steadfast as a beacon of light in the Beltsville community.  From modest, obscure beginnings,  with each generation, “seeking first the kingdom of God”, Queen's Chapel has reaped a bountiful harvest.  The elders laid a sure foundation. Ours is a rich spiritual legacy. As the heirs of this legacy we look back on our past with thanksgiving, and to our future with renewed hope, courage, and faith.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

To God Be the Glory!

Marsha Brown, Church Historian

In the 136 years since beginning its spiritual journey, Queen's Chapel has been inspired and blessed by the leadership and ministry of the following shepherds.  We give thanks for their witness.
William Henry Draper	1868-1870	Virgil N. Hughes	1911-1914
John Maybury	1871-1873	Lewis E.S. Nash	1914-1926
Robert Wheeler	1874-1875	Benjamin Gross	1926-1928
Nathaniel Jackson	1876-1878	F.E. Nicholas	1928-1934
Joshua Barnes	1879-1881	Vivian T. Key	1935-1941
Stephen Tascoe	1882-1884	George Dent	1942-1945
Benjamin F. Nugent	1886-1887	Levi Miller	1945-1949
Isaac L. Thomas	1887-1890	E.A. Moore	1950-1953
McHenry Naylor	1890-1893	Joseph Haskins	1953-1960
Stuart A. Lewis	1893-1894	John E. Evans	1960-1969
Horace C. Connor	1894-1895	John L. Winters	1969-1980
Acquilla Brooks	1895-1898	Basha P. Jordan	1980-1983
Moses Lake	1899-1902	Leon C. Kess, Jr.	1983-2000
William T. Harris	1902-1904	Dr. Bruce F. Haskins	2000-2007
Benjamin W. Brown	1904-1905	B. Kevin Smalls	2007-Present
Joseph Henry	1906-1907
Angold Brown	1908-1910

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