St. Thomas' Parish, Croom is an historic parish of colonial origin. The congregation was organized in the 1670's at Charles Town the original county seat. It was part of St. Paul's Parish (1692) until 1850 when the parish was created out of the northern portion of St. Paul's. The Reverend John Eversfield was rector from 1728 to 1775. Under his leadership, a new structure, St. Thomas' Church, was begun in 1742 and the first service held on Christmas Day in 1745. His nephew Thomas John Claggett owned a large plantation, Croom, located one mile north of the church. Claggett became rector and in 1792 was consecrated the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and the first bishop consecrated on American soil.

The chapel was the seat of Bishop Claggett. St. Thomas' was known as Pages' Chapel until 1850, named for Daniel Page who raised the church on two acres of The Cuckhold's Rest. The original church building was designed as an English Georgian "auditory" church. St. Thomas' Parish was formally recognized by the Diocese of Maryland in 1851 and encompassed the area near the county seat of Upper Marlboro.

During the 1850's the church was "Victorianized." The chancel was added in the early 1850s and the bell tower was built in 1888 in memory of Bishop Claggett. The first rector of the newly created parish, James A. McKenney, established the Church of the Atonement in 1874 in Cheltenham, MD. Atonement was consecrated in 1875 by Bishop Pinkney of Maryland, during the rectorate of Samuel P. Gordon, who supervised the addition of the Gothic style stained glass windows at St. Thomas'. The Church of the Atonement was deconsecrated in 1947, although its cemetery dates from the mid- 1870s and remains active today.

St. Thomas' Croom was renovated in the 1950s incorporating both historic Victorian and Colonial elements within a harmonious design. The parish register has approximated 875 graves recorded, some dating back to the mid-1740s.

Four people are buried within the church itself: the Reverend Mr. John Eversfield, Benedict and Elizabeth Calvert of Mount Airy and their daughter Eleanor Calvert Custis Steuart, wife of John Parke Custis and Dr. David Steuart. St. Thomas' Church is a Prince George's County Historic Site and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

At one time, St. Thomas' included four congregations, St. Thomas' (Croom), the Church of the Atonement (Cheltenham), St. Simon's Mission (Croom) and the Chapel of the Incarnation (Brandywine). Only St. Thomas' and the Chapel of the Incarnation are in existence today.

In 1896, St. Simon's Mission was established in Croom as an African-American parochial mission by the Misses Susie, Kate, and Elizabeth Willes during the rectorate of their brother, the Reverend Francis P. Willes. The Willes also started a school at the rectory and it became an enormous success known for its excellent programs in general education, technical training, and religious instruction. The two Sunday-school classrooms were moved across St. Thomas Church Road in 1902. The Bishop of Washington sent an African-American priest, the Reverend August E. Jensen, in June of 1902 to serve the mission, and it became an independent mission under the auspices of the Diocese of Washington. In 1964 St. Simon's was integrated with St. Thomas'. The buildings of St. Simon's Mission were unfortunately demolished in 1976. The chalice from St. Simon's is still in use. The cemetery at St. Simon's, the first cemetery in Croom for African Americans, is an active site today. St. Simon's is a Prince George's County Historical Resource Site.

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