In 1778 a Methodist Society was organized in this area by Freeborn Garrettson, and in 1780 the group built a brick preaching house on a site provided by member Phillip Barratt and named in his honor. On November 14, 1784, a large crowd gathered there for Quarterly Meeting, where Dr. Thomas Coke, recently arrived from England with directions from John Wesley to meet church leaders and plan the future of American Methodism, preached the sermon. Coke was accompanied by Richard Whatcoat, who had been ordained by Wesley before leaving England, and during the service the sacramental ordinances were administered for the first time by Methodist clergy in America. After the sermon, Coke was greeted by Francis Asbury, the country’s leading Methodist, and at a meeting later that day plans were formulated for the establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church as an independent denomination in America. Known today as the Cradle of American Methodism, Barratt’s Chapel is a Heritage Landmark of the United Methodist Church and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.