Built by English colonists on land patented in 1675 to Henry Aldridge, a former indentured servant, Old Trinity Church is one of the oldest church buildings in the United States still used for regular worship. Although its exact construction date is unknown, it was already standing in 1692 when Dorchester Parish was officially named. Situated on Church Creek, the parish church underwent restorations in the 1850s and again from 1953 to 1960, when Col. Edgar W. Garbisch and his wife, Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, restored it in keeping with its 17th century heritage. Their work reinforced the exterior walls, reset the original brick, removed an 18th century transept, the wooden floor, and 19th century furnishings, replaced Gothic style windows with double casements of diamond shaped panes, and reconstructed the 3 tiered pulpit and 15 enclosed box pews from old heart of pine wood. Most of the church's ironwork is hand forged, and its walnut alter, two sconces, and floor tiles remain original. A communion chalice bearing English silver hallmarks from the reign of George III is among its treasured relics. The main body of the church measures 38 feet by 20 feet, and its half-circle apse is noted for fine artisanship. An English pipe organ occupies the singers' loft, and the church's 17th century auditory style gives it excellent acoustics. Near the west entrance, as required by a 1696 Maryland statute, A Table of Kindred and Affinity is posted to forbid marriages within certain degrees of kinship. The crest of Queen Anne of England, a benefactor of the parish, looks down from the loft. The graveyard is protected by an 85-acre glebe that includes the Rectory, a 1790 farmhouse, along with marsh, farmland, undisturbed upland habitat, and ancient trees. The old graveyard includes veterans of the Revolution, the War of 1812, and both sides of the Civil War, as well as the grave of Anna Ella Carroll and other members of the Carroll family, including Maryland Governor Thomas King Carroll. Other features include the Miller's Grave, the Vesting House, a lychgate, a river walk with a contemplation garden dedicated to S. Proctor Rodgers, and a living shoreline planted along Church Creek in 2008.