7612 Old Muirkirk Road, Beltsville, Maryland 20705
240-264-3415; TTY 301-699-2544

INTRODUCTION

This small frame meetinghouse-style church is distinguished by its steeply pitched gable roof and late Victorian ornamental treatment of its principal gable front. The upper gable has alternating courses of sawtooth and rectangular shingles, a quatrefoil bulls-eye ornament, and a turned wooden finial at the ridge. Each of the chapel's side walls is lighted by three gothic-arch windows that have delicate tracery in the upper sashes.

Initially scheduled for demolition in 1980, the Friends of Dorsey Chapel organized efforts to preserve and restore the church. Dorsey Chapel was ultimately designated a Prince George's County "historic site" by the Historic Preservation Commission. Restoration of the Chapel was undertaken by The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in 1994, and the facility was re-dedicated and opened to the public on September 11, 1996. The Chapel is available for rental for small weddings, recitals, and meetings.