Laurel did not exist when the colony of
Maryland laid out its original 30 parishes in 1692. Scharf's History of Delaware reportedly states the last
Native Americans in Delaware left from the Chipman's Pond area, which became the site of this Christ Church, in 1748. By 1772, a small settlement had been built, including a mill (now Chipman's Mill State Park), store, some houses, and iron foundry. The large Stepney Parish of the
Church of England levied 80,000 pounds of tobacco from citizens and Robert Houston built this
chapel of ease for residents of its northern part, often called simply "Broad Creek Chapel." However, it turned out that both Maryland and Delaware claimed this relatively remote area known for its heavy stands of virgin pine trees. This dispute led to clarification of the boundary via the
Transpeninsular Line and
Mason–Dixon line, which placed the church in Delaware. It then became the "Mother Church" of Western
Sussex County, Delaware. By 1821, Rev. Daniel Higbee was elected rector for this church and four others.
St. Peter's Church in
Lewes, Delaware was to pay him $180 per year, and this Christ Church and three others paid him $120 annually. Those less wealthy churches included
Prince George's Chapel in
Dagsboro, Delaware (begun 1755 as a chapel of ease for St. Martin's parish in
Worcester County, Maryland and caught in the same boundary dispute),
St. Pauls' Church in
Georgetown, Delaware, and
St. George's Chapel about 9 miles south of Lewes. Pew rents at this church were once five dollars per year, and this parish helped to form St. Phillips in Laurel in 1834, St. Luke's in
Seaford, Delaware in 1835, as well as St. John's Little Hill, St. Mark's in
Millsboro in 1848, and All Saints in Delmar in 1886 when the railroad down the
Delmarva Peninsula brought relative prosperity to this area. Four Delaware governors have been members:
Nathaniel Mitchell, who is buried there,
William B. Cooper,
William H. H. Ross, and
Elbert N. Carvel. ==Architecture==