Dorsey Chapel is a small meeting-house-style church which served as the
spiritual and social center of the rural African-American community of
Brookland at the turn of the 20th century. Construction of the chapel was
completed in 1900; it was named after its first minister, the Reverend A.B.
Dorsey. A small, active congregation occupied the chapel from 1900 to 1971.
In 1971, the congregation merged with the congregation from Perkins Chapel
to form Glenn Dale United Methodist Church, and Dorsey Chapel was no longer
used. Initially scheduled for demolition in 1980, the Friends of Dorsey
Chapel organized efforts to preserve and restore the church.
