St. Lukes Episcopal Church

The origin of this parish can be traced to 1704 when a log chapel known as St. Mary’s was constructed on Chapel Branch in Northwest Fork Hundred. The devastating impact of the Revolution on the Church of England in America contributed to the discontinuation of services there by the early 1800s. In 1835, the Rev. Corry Chambers was sent to the Seaford area by the Diocese of Delaware. Finding St. Mary’s in ruins, he organized St. Luke’s from the remnants of the former congregation. Services were held for a time in Union Meeting House at High and Church Streets. This site was donated by Dr. John Gibbons, and construction of the present church was begun in 1838. On May 28, 1843, St. Luke’s was formally consecrated by Bishop Alfred Lee. The church was remodeled and enlarged in 1886. Facilities were further expanded with the completion of a Parish House in 1931. Prominent citizens interred in the adjoining cemetery include William H. Ross, Governor of Delaware (1851-1855); and Edward L. Martin, member of the United States House of Representatives (1879-1883). St. Luke’s Protestant Episcopal Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.