2024 - 5K Fun Run/Walk

Join us at St. Francis Xavier Church on Saturday, April 20, 2024 for this fun event to benefit our parish’s Newtowne Manor House Preservation/Restoration Fund. This run/walk is open to all ages and abilities. Course starts at St. Francis Xavier Church and follows the road into picturesque Newtowne Neck State Park. Registration starts at 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. and run/walk participants group start is at 8:30 a.m.

The registration fee is $20 which includes a custom tee shirt. Kids 12 and under are free. This year we are including Earth Day Activities. Redbud Seedlings will be given away to the 1^st 100 participants and Native Plants will be planted in the Newtowne Neck Pollinators by volunteers. Information on registration and even online giving is available in the vestibule and on our website:  www.stfrancisxavierchurch.org. When using the online giving option, be sure to select Walk in the Park. Donations are always welcomed. If you need additional information, please contact Sarah Matisick at 301-247-7416. 

Porch Project Completed in Fall of 2022:

The north side porch was restored to the Manor House by  Don Cropp of Colony Builders, Inc. It was funded by the Patrick O’Donnell house sale and the proceeds from the 2022 Walk in the Park. Drawings used for building the porch are from the Trostel and Pearre design in 1984. After the porch was completed, Walt Hayes refinished and reinstalled the front door and door hardware.


New Roof for the Manor House
In collaboration with the Archdiocese of Washington, architect Larry Abell, and the Manor House Technical Committee, Fr. Pineda signed a contract with RRH Associates LLC of Huntingtown, MD for a replacement of the Manor House roof.  The cedar shingles applied in the late 1980s reached the end of their lifetime. After looking at options for cedar, asphalt, copper and steel roofing materials, a decision was made to use a coated steel standing seam product.  A slate gray color has been selected.  The Manor House has had a metal roof in the past.

 All the old roofing materials were stripped off.  New weather proofing membranes and a standing seam steel roof has be applied. Fascia and soffits and rake boards have been replaced. New dormer windows have been installed.  Chimney caps have been installed.




From Newtown to Georgetown: Connections and Legacies

A lecture by Prof Adam Rothman, PhD, of Georgetown University given on Sunday February 24, 2019 at St Francis Xavier Church, Leonardtown, Maryland, as part of the continuing 350th Anniversary Celebration of St. Francis Xavier parish. Dr. Rothman offers important facts in understanding the relationship between the Manor House, Georgetown University, enslaved people in the 17th and 18th centuries, and their legacies to both institutions. 

The lecture was sponsored by the Newtown Manor House Committee. [ A video, linked below, has been edited for time.]

 

https://youtu.be/U_uz6U5LFDo 

The first of two design charrettes was held on Saturday, February 9, 2019 in the church hall.  Hosted by the architect, Larry Abell, the purpose of the charrette was to envision the preservation and future development of the building with stakeholders including parish members,  local historical society and tourism interests, the Jesuit community, etc. 

A second charrette was held on Saturday, October 5, 2019 in the church hall.  Mr. Abell and his team will present a matrix of five design proposals aligned with specific fire code and building code requirements and historical trust evaluations.  Each proposal was presented with a "program estimate" to give an approximate cost figure that we can use for planning and fundraising purposes.  Charrette participants were asked to find consensus on one of these proposals which will then lead to a design phase for the project.  Cost estimates ranged from $500,000 to $3 million dollars.  

Background:  A challenge facing the parish is the preservation and restoration of the Newtowne Manor House which sits directly behind the church. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places and placed in 2010 on the Endangered Maryland list by Preservation Maryland, the house was an integral part of the Jesuit community that began here around 1668. An archeological examination of the church grounds that took place in the early 1980s discovered the existence of an earlier Manor House located between the church building and the present day Manor House. The earlier house was built around 1721.  The construction of the present day structure is estimated to be around 1789. After decades of use by the resident Jesuit community, the Manor House was occupied by tenant farmers into the early 1980s. The last famly to occupy the house was the Delahay family but it has been vacant since then.

Over the centuries the Manor House, noted for its Georgian style architecture,  has undergone several transformations. Originally a two story structure with a gambrel roof, in 1816 an additional half story was added and the roof took on its gable form. Historic photos show the attic dormers on, off and on again. The dormers you see today were rebuilt during a roof restoration in 1989.

In 2013 a group of interested parishioners and local community members formed the Friends of the Newtowne Manor House to begin the process to preserve and restore this historic structure.
The group meets once a month and welcomes new members.  See the links on the right for more information.

For a detailed history of the Manor House and its connection to the present day parish of St. Francis Xavier see this article in the Chronicles of St. Mary's County.

See this timeline for a condensed history of the parish from 1640-2012.