The histories of Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery and Barratt’s Chapel and Museum have been intertwined since their beginnings when the Chapel was built in 1780, on land donated by Philip Barratt, a prominent political figure in Kent County, Delaware. Barratt wanted to build a center for the growing Methodist movement in Delaware. The cemetery was a natural outgrowth of the church’s congregational life and, during the subsequent 240 plus years, expanded from a few burial plots next to the church outwards to its current multiple acres of burial plots, mausoleums and columbarium units.
A Board of Trustees was established and managed operations of both the chapel and the cemetery until May of 1957, when the church site and some surrounding grounds were sold to the Historical Society of the Peninsula Annual Conference, Inc. for what eventually became a Heritage Landmark of the United Methodist Church. Today, the site, which encompasses the church and an adjacent museum and archives, is owned and maintained by the Commission on Archives and History of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
From that point on, the Board of Trustees for Barratt’s Chapel focused solely on the management of the cemetery. This would involve the employment of a full-time cemetery caretaker and their residence on the grounds, plus the ongoing grounds maintenance, site improvements and expansion of the cemetery’s capacity.
The Board of Trustees for Barratt’s Chapel Cemetery is currently comprised of a President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer and four other members appointed by the Board. They meet as needed to discuss matters related to ensuring the ongoing care of the final resting place for the many loved ones who are interred or entombed there.