Four years ago I'd posted a short entry about this small historic African-American church and graveyard in Deal Island, Maryland. The headstones represented veterans of multiple generations and conflicts and I felt it was such a tragedy that the property was so badly damaged (likely due to Hurricane Sandy).
Earlier this month I spotted a news item by the Crisfield-Somerset Times referencing an attempt to preserve the property: Secure and weatherproof first steps to save John Wesley Church County Times. In searching for other information I found the following links and I've included more photos as well. To view a PDF file on the Maryland Historical Trust website click here.
• On a website titled Carlin Stiehl, Visual Journalist I found the following: "The graveyard of the Wesley Church on Deal Island is sinking as cracked tombstones break into the ground. The low elevation of the Island has made it susceptible to flooding and erosion, much like the outlying buffer islands on the Chesapeake Bay."
• Entry by Roadside Delmarva uploaded to Flickr on October 25, 2015: John Wesley M.E. Church, Deal Island, MD ...............Built in 1889 in the Gothic Revival style and rebuilt in 1914, this historic African-American church rises on marshy ground midway between the villages of Deal Island and Wenona.
• How To Save A Sinking Island: "As the world gets hotter and sea levels rise, one American island is fighting to stay alive". By Erik Ortiz, John Brecher and Jake Heller, November 13th 2017. https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/deal-island/
• Maryland Historical Trust Facebook page 9.30.14 (unfortunately their link no longer works): "The slate of Maryland projects awarded federal disaster relief grant funds in the wake of Hurricane Sandy includes John Wesley United Methodist Church, a 1914 landmark built for an African American congregation in the low, marshy landscape of Deal Island. Grants came from the National Park Service, which awarded $1.47 million to Maryland, $909,250 of which MHT offered through a competitive application process. $350K of the funds directed to disaster relief, resiliency planning in Somerset County".
• Facebook post from William G Wheatley: Men and Women Who Have Serve Our Nation from the Deal Island Area. "Hope I have posted the Veteran in your family from Deal Island Area. I will be adding more photo's. I am trying to have all the Veteran photo's in one album. There are so many to post. I am also working on the the history of each Veteran. God Bless all our Veterans".
• My previous blog post, Wednesday, January 27, 2016: John Wesley United Methodist Church Cemetery | Deal Island, Maryland
