Historic Churches in Texas: Through the Lens Series

By William

The story of historic churches in Texas is the story of the Anglo-American and European immigrants in Texas. It is the story of the struggle of three cultures trying to coexist in an empty and often hostile land: the Native Americans, the Mexicans, and the immigrants. It is the story of circuit-riding preachers tirelessly, clandestinely crisscrossing Texas, bringing the Protestant word of God to the people in a land where, prior to Texas's independence, only Catholicism was legal. It is the story of a people who successfully fought and won their independence to build a nation. It is the story of Texas. Over the past ten years, my wife and I have visited and photographed almost one thousand historic churches in Texas. We have seen stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, listened to the rich tones of Texas's largest organ, and prayed in the smallest active Catholic Church in the world. We visited the oldest Polish church in the United States in Panna Maria, lingered with spirits in an abandoned church in Nacogdoches, and were dazzled by the bright colors and designs found in the Catholic Cathedral in Beaumont. In Berlin, we held a silver communion cup donated to the church in 1889, and in San Antonio we touched the sarcophagus where the remains of Alamo heroes William Travis, David Crockett, and James Bowie are said to be kept. The photographs and text, which was jointly written by William and Mary Pamela Schaefer, are attempts to capture the important history and the quiet beauty of the 186 historic Texas churches presented in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781643000176

Book preview

9781643000176_cover.jpg

Historic Churches in Texas

William and Mary Pamela Schaefer

Photography by: William A. Schaefer, Jr

Cover Photograph: Newman Castle, Chapel

Bellville, Texas

ISBN 978-1-64300-015-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64300-016-9 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64300-017-6 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 William and Mary Pamela Schaefer

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Introduction

Catholic Churches in Texas

San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio

San Agustin Roman Catholic Cathedral, Laredo

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Victoria

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Saint Mary’s Parish, Hallettsville

Saint Mary Co-Cathedral and Basilica, Galveston

Saint Mary’s Old and New Roman Catholic Church, Fredericksburg

Saint Dominic Catholic Church, D’hanis

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Brownsville

Saint Mary Catholic Cathedral, Austin

Saint Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont

The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Panna Maria

Saint Mary Catholic Church, Ellinger

Stella Maris Catholic Chapel, Lamar

Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, Galveston

La Lomita Chapel, Mission

Annunciation Catholic Church, Houston

Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, Galveston

Church of the Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Cestohowa

Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, Cuero

Church of the Visitation (Catholic), Westphalia

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Galveston

Saint Martin Catholic Church, Warrenton

Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, Shiner

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Plantersville

Saint Francis Catholic Church, near Wadsworth

Saint Mary Mission Church, League City

Saint Ann’s Catholic Church, Kosciusko

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Menard

Guardian Angel Catholic Church, El Paso

The Methodist Church in Texas

McMahan Chapel, Sabine County

First Methodist Church, Shelbyville

San Felipe (United Methodist) Church, San Felipe

First United Methodist Church, Austin

McKenzie United Methodist Church, Honey Grove

First United Methodist Church, Paris

First United Methodist Church, Longview

First Methodist Church, Marshall

First United Methodist Church, Dallas

Coldspring United Methodist Church, Coldspring

Industry Methodist Church, Industry

Salado Methodist Church, Salado

First United Methodist Church, Stephenville

First United Methodist Church, Albany

Rose Hill United Methodist Church, Tomball

Saint Mark’s United Methodist Church, Houston

Polly’s Chapel, Bandera County

First United Methodist Church, Fort Davis

First United Methodist Church, Lubbock

United Methodist Church, Boling

The Baptist Church in Texas

Old Pilgrim Church / Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church, Anderson County

Union Baptist Church (Old North), Nacogdoches

Baptist (Old Baptist) Church, Independence

First Baptist Church, Galveston

Anderson Baptist Church, Anderson

First Baptist Church, Huntsville

First Concord Baptist Church, Rye

First Baptist Church, Corsicana

Old Baptist Church Building, Montgomery

First Baptist Church, Waco

First Baptist Church, Farmersville

First Baptist Church, White Settlement

First Baptist Church, Eddy

First Baptist Church, Carrizo Springs

First Baptist Church, Mart

First Baptist Church, Corpus Christi

Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth

First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls

First Baptist Church, Midland

First Baptist Church, Zephyr

Old First Baptist Church, Amarillo

First Baptist Church, Bay City

The Presbyterian Church in Texas

First Presbyterian Church, Clarksville

Memorial Presbyterian Church, San Augustine

First Presbyterian Church, Houston

Bethel Presbyterian Church, West Columbia

First Presbyterian Church, Galveston

First Presbyterian Church, Victoria

First Presbyterian Church, San Antonio

First Presbyterian Church, Calvert

First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore

Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Jefferson

Central Presbyterian Church, Waxahachie

Westminster Presbyterian Church, Corsicana

First Presbyterian Church, Waco

First Presbyterian Church, Lancaster

First Presbyterian Church, Paris

First Presbyterian Church, Bonham

First Presbyterian Church, Taylor

First Presbyterian Church, Orange

Disciples of Christ in TexasChurch of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 

in Texas

Antioch Church of Christ, San Augustine County

First Christian (Disciples of Christ) Church, Van Alstyne

Central Christian Church, Austin

First Christian Church, Plano

First Christian Church, Lockhart

First Christian Church of Fort Worth, Fort Worth

First Christian Church, Palo Pinto

San Gabriel Christian Church, San Gabriel

First Christian Church, Huntsville

First Christian Church, Terrell

First Christian Church, Taylor

Central Christian Church, Greenville

First Christian Church, Anna

Milam Street Church of Christ, Columbus

Central Christian Church, Nocona

First Christian Church, Temple

First Christian Church, Tyler

First Christian Church, Lufkin

Friedens Church (United Church Of Christ), Geronimo

Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ, Gerald

First Christian Church, Johnson City

The Episcopal Church in Texas

Christ Episcopal Church, Matagorda

Christ Church Cathedral, Houston

Trinity Episcopal Church, Galveston

Christ Church Episcopal, San Augustine

Christ Episcopal Church, Nacogdoches

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Lockhart

Saint James Episcopal Church, La Grange

Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Cathedral, Dallas

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, San Antonio

Saint David’s Episcopal Church, Austin

Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi

Church of Saint Clement Episcopal, El Paso

Grace Episcopal Church, Cuero

Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church, Hamilton

Church of Saint Mark, the Evangelist, Honey Grove

Grace Episcopal Church, Galveston

Saint James’ Episcopal Church, Texarkana

Saint John the Baptist Episcopal Church, Claredon

Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Comanche

Church of Our Merciful Savior, Kaufman

Emmanuel Episcopal Church, San Angelo

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Brownwood

The Lutheran Church in Texas

Holy Ghost (Heilige Geist) Evangelical Protestant Church, Fredericksburg

Saint Martin Lutheran Church, New Braunfels

Saint John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Meyersville

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Houston

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Galveston

Trinity Lutheran Church, Victoria

Salem Lutheran Church, Tomball

Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Round Top

Eben-Ezer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Berlin

Trinity Lutheran Church, Frelsburg

Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Austin

Our Savior’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Norse

The Palm Valley Lutheran Church, Round Rock

Saint Paul Lutheran Church, Mason

New Sweden Lutheran Church, near New Sweden

Saint John Lutheran Church, Bartlett

Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church, Cuero

Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church, Danevang

Saint Peter Lutheran Church, Doss

Saint John Lutheran Church, Crabapple

Saint Olaf Kirke (Lutheran), The Rock Church, Bosque County

Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cherry Spring

Bethel Lutheran Church, Avoca

African-American Churches in Texas

Jerusalem Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, San Augustine

Trinity United Methodist Church, Houston

Wesley United Methodist Church, Austin

Reedy Chapel African Methodist Epsicopal (AME) Church, Galveston

Liberty Baptist Church, Independence

Saint Paul United Methodist Church, Galveston

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Houston

Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church, Kirvin

New Hope Baptist Church, Waco

Avenue L Missionary Baptist Church, Galveston

Bethesda Baptist Church, Marshall

Palestine Missionary Baptist Church, Victoria

Saint Paul United Methodist Church, Double Bayou

Mount Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Palestine

Saint James United Methodist Church, Waco

Lee Tabernacle United Methodist Church, Navasota

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Houston

Joshua Chapel AME Church, Waxahachie

Zion Hill First Baptist Church, Nacogdoches

Saint Beulah Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, Pittsburg

Saint Nicholas Catholic Church, Houston

Saint Andrew United Methodist Church, Fort Worth

Unity of the Brethren Churches in Texas

Wesley Brethren Church, Wesley

Nondenominational Churches in Texas

Telico Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Telico

Harmony Church, Stewards Mill

Little Church of La Villita, San Antonio

The Frankford Church, Dallas

Shelby Chapel Presbyterian Church, Athens

Italian World War II Prisoner of War (POW) Camp Chapel, Castro County

World Changers Church, Houston

Reference

About the Authors

Introduction

The story of historic churches in Texas is the story of the Anglo-American and European immigrants in Texas. It is the story of the struggle of three cultures trying to coexist in an empty and often hostile land: the Native Americans, the Mexicans, and the immigrants. It is the story of circuit-riding preachers tirelessly, clandestinely crisscrossing Texas, bringing the Protestant word of God to the people in a land where, prior to Texas’s independence, only Catholicism was legal. It is the story of a people who successfully fought and won their independence to build a nation. It is the story of Texas.

Before independence from Mexico in 1836, the Catholic faith was the only religion settlers in Texas, known as Texians, could legally practice. To acquire land in Texas, then a part of Mexico known as Coahuila y Tejas, one had to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church or agree to convert to Catholicism. This law was strictly enforced and caused much resentment in the mostly Protestant immigrant settlers. However, the attraction of rich Texas soil and the possibility of new beginnings convinced these reluctant Protestants to convert to Catholicism on paper, if not in their hearts. Encouraged by circuit-riding preachers, many Texians continued to quietly practice their Protestant faith in the privacy of their homes.

Defiance of the religious laws began as soon as Anglo-American settlers started moving into Texas. Circuit-riding preachers arrived in Texas as early as 1815 when Methodist William J. Stevenson became the first Protestant preacher to hold services in Texas. He organized the first Protestant congregation and founded the first church in Texas at Pecan Point near the Red River. Although the Pecan Point church did not survive, in 1833 Stevenson’s son James P. Stevenson organized the McMahan Chapel, the oldest still active church congregation in Texas.

Although a few churches were secretly organized before Texas’s independence in 1836, most were organized afterwards. The oldest Baptist church in Texas, the Pilgrim Primitive Baptist Church, was organized by Daniel Parker in 1833 with its first recorded meeting held in Austin’s Colony near the town of Anderson in 1834. In 1835, the congregation moved to Daniel Parker’s home near Elkhart, Texas where a log church was erected. Continuous worship has been held on that site since Daniel Parker delivered his first sermon there in 1835. A replica of the original log church has been erected on the church grounds.

After Texians won their independence, religious congregations began to build houses of worship, typically log cabins or plank buildings. Most of these early church buildings did not survive because they were poorly constructed of logs and plank and often burned down or were blown down by storms. Eventually, stronger buildings made of clapboard, brick, and stone were erected. Even then, with wood burning stoves providing heat and candles or kerosene lanterns providing the primary source of light, churches were often destroyed by accidental fires. In addition, with time, congregations often outgrew their vintage church building or could no longer afford the high costs of maintaining the older, outdated buildings. As a result, the congregation often abandoned them to build larger and often more elaborate edifices. Occasionally membership in a church congregation fell below the economic ability of its members to maintain the church building. Once abandoned, the old churches rapidly deteriorated.

During the last half of the nineteenth century, Texas continued to be a magnate for immigration, and each new wave of immigrants built their churches to reflect their religious customs. Soon after Texas joined the United States in 1845, Anglo-American and European immigration increased dramatically. In 1845, Henri Castro, a French national, obtained an impresario contract with the Republic of Texas to establish a colony of six hundred French families. As it turns out, Castro had only limited success in recruiting from France and had to include colonists from other European countries, particularly Germany. However, the majority of his colonists were French Alsatians and even today the town they founded, Castroville, is known as the Little Alsace of Texas.

Although the Germans were among the earliest settlers in Texas, the majority of German immigration took place after 1845. Most German immigrants landed at the port of Indianola at Matagorda Bay and moved inland where they founded towns like New Braunfels and Fredericksburg in Central Texas. The German immigrants were mostly Lutheran and in 1846 organized the Holy Ghost Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fredericksburg, the first Lutheran congregation organized in Texas.

The Czech immigrants first arrived in 1852 and settled around Fayetteville. Most were Catholics, and in 1855 they built their first Czech Catholic Church near Fayetteville, the Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. Later, in 1861, Saint Mary’s was moved closer to Ellinger, and in 1906 the present Carpenter Gothic church was completed.

The first Czech Protestant service was held in 1855 and in 1864 the Reverend Joseph Opocensky organized the Wesley Brethren Church. The importance of this little church is that it was the First Czech Protestant and Moravian Brethren Congregation organized in North America. It is considered the mother church of the Brethren in Texas.

By 1854, the first Polish immigrants arrived in Texas and established the first Polish settlement in the United States at Panna Maria, Texas. Two years later, in 1856, they completed the first Polish Church in America: the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The original church building was destroyed by fire in 1877 and was replaced in 1878 by the present structure.

The Danish Lutherans were late coming to Texas. The first Danish Colony in Texas, Danevang, was established in 1894 on land purchased by the Dansk Folksamfund, the Danish Folk Society. The colony is located twelve miles south of El Campo, Texas. By 1895, ninety-three families had purchased land in the colony, and during the same year the Reverend F. L. Grundtvig organized the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church

Over the past ten years, my wife and I have visited and photographed almost one thousand historic churches in Texas. We have seen stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, listened to the rich tones of Texas’s largest organ, and prayed in the smallest active Catholic church in the world. We visited the oldest Polish church in the United States in Panna Maria, lingered with the spirits in an abandoned church in Nacogdoches, and were dazzled by the bright colors and designs found in the Catholic Cathedral in Beaumont. In Berlin we held a silver communion cup donated to the church in 1889, and in San Antonio we touched the sarcophagus where the remains of Alamo heroes William Travis, David Crocket, and James Bowie are said to be kept. It has been a wonderful journey for us, and now we would like to share it with you.

Permission to use the sanctuary photographs in this book was granted by the church administrators and, in some cases, by the governing bodies.

Chapter 1

Catholic Churches in Texas

The first Spanish Catholic missionaries arrived in Texas in 1632 from Santa Fe New Mexico and they organized the San Clemente Mission near San Angelo. During the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, Texas was a remote and sparsely populated Spanish frontier and it was the purpose of the Catholic missions to help protect these vast territorial holdings for Spain by building the loyalty of the indigenous people. From its beginning in 1632 until 1793, when the last mission was built near Refugio in South Texas, a total of thirty-five Catholic missions were built in Texas. The Friars of the Franciscan Order, founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the thirteenth century, were given the responsibility for Texas missions until 1830 when the last mission was secularized.

In 1835, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, then president of Mexico, suspended the 1824 Mexican Constitution leading to the Texas Revolution of 1835–1836 and the birth of the Republic of Texas in April 1836. As a result of the secularization of the Catholic missions prior to 1830 and the turmoil of the Texas Revolution, the Catholic Church in Texas found itself in decline. Although the Catholic faith remained strong within the Mexican population of Texas, there was a lack of priests to minister to both them and to the new immigrants pouring into the vast, open frontier of the new republic.

To rebuild the Catholic Church in Texas, Pope Gregory XVI gave ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Texas to Bishop Anthony Blanc of New Orleans in 1838. Bishop Blanc then selected Vincentian father John Timon to head a mission to Texas. From December 26, 1838 to January 12, 1839, Father Timon, accompanied by Father Francis Liebaria, traveled in Texas to determine the reasons for Catholicism’s decline. Their conclusion: too few priests to service the new Republic. The Vincentians, a congregation of secular priests with religious vows founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1625, assumed responsibility for Catholicism in Texas.

On May 4, 1847, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Galveston and named Vincentian father Jean Marie Odin the first Catholic bishop for Texas. In 1852, the Vincentians withdrew from Texas and did not return until 1905. Bishop Odin, who continued his service as bishop until 1862, was the last Vincentian to serve as a bishop in Texas. It was through Bishop Odin’s tireless efforts that the Catholic Church in Texas was revived. Bishop Odin is considered to be the founder of the modern Catholic Church in Texas.

San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio

Count: Bexar County

Organized: 1731

Church Completed: 1749

Architecture: Native Stone Gothic Revival

Location: 115 Main Plaza

Significance: Oldest standing church in Texas and oldest active cathedral sanctuary in the United States

On March 9, 1731, fifteen families from the Canary Islands with the help of Captain Juan Antonio de Almazan founded the settlement of La Villa of San Fernando de Bexar (San Antonio); the first permanent organized government in Texas. Four months later, on July 2, 1731, the same group of families founded San Fernando Church, later to become the Cathedral for the Diocese of San Antonio.

San Fernando Church is the oldest standing church in Texas and the oldest cathedral sanctuary in the United States. The original walls still stand forming what is now the sanctuary of the present church. The cornerstone was laid on May 11, 1738; and on November 6, 1749, the church was blessed and opened for services. The congregation chose two saints for the church, Our Lady of Candlemas (a patroness of the Canary Islands) and Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (the patroness of Mexico). The baptismal font is the oldest furnishing in the church and is believed to be a gift from Charles III, who became King of Spain in 1759.

San Fernando Cathedral played an important role in the history and stories surrounding the Battle of the Alamo. In 1836, during the battle for the Alamo, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, commander of the Mexican forces, used the church as a lookout and from its tower he flew the red flag of no quarter, signaling to the Texans they would be shown no mercy in their defeat. Later, in 1889, Colonel Juan Sequin claimed to have buried some of the burnt remains of the Alamo defenders beneath the sanctuary of San Fernando. In 1936, during renovation of the church, a box of charred remains was unearthed, seemingly verifying Colonel Sequin’s story. The remains were placed in a marble sarcophagus and placed at the entrance of the cathedral. The epitaph next to the sarcophagus reads in part, Here lie the remains of Travis, Crockett, Bowie and other Alamo heroes

The Battle of the Alamo and its aftermath left San Antonio in economic chaos and San Fernando Church in a state of disrepair. Extensive renovation for the church began in 1868. The original tower and part of the nave were razed and a new Gothic Revival sanctuary with twin bell towers was erected. Although the second bell tower was not completed until 1902, the new church was consecrated in October 1873. The carved stone Stations of the Cross were added in 1874, and the stained-glass windows were added in 1920.

In 1874, Pope Pius IX formed the Diocese of San Antonio and designated San Fernando Church as its Cathedral. The first bishop of the diocese, Anthony Dominic Pellicer, was installed December 27, 1874. After his death on April 14, 1880, he was buried under the head of the main aisle of the church.

San Agustin Roman Catholic Cathedral, Laredo

County: Webb County

Organized: 1760

Church Completed: 1872

Architecture: Masonry Gothic Revival

Location: 201 Agustin Avenue

Significance: Second oldest Catholic parish in Texas. From 1891–1912 served as the cathedral for the Brownsville Vicariate Apostolic

In 1759, Bishop Fray Francisco de San Buen Ventura of Guadalajara visited Laredo, and a year later he sent a resident priest to the small community, thus marking the beginning of San Agustin Catholic Church. The founder of Laredo had reserved the east side of the central plaza for the construction of a church. It was here in 1767 that the Catholic settlers of Laredo built their first church, a simple mud-plastered building. In 1778, the settlers built a small stone church to replace the mud-plastered building. In 1789, the bishop of Guadalajara designated the San Augustin Congregation a parish establishing the second oldest Catholic parish in Texas. San Fernando de Bexar parish in San Antonio is the oldest.

In 1853, Father Jean Marie Odin of the Texas Diocese of Galveston sent the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to Laredo to minister the church. One of the Oblates, Padre Alfonso Souchon, arrived in 1857 and remained for forty-five years until his death in 1902. It was during his pastorate that the present masonry Gothic Revival church was completed in 1872.

In 1874, San Agustin Parish was transferred from the Diocese of Galveston to the newly created Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville. Bishop Peter Verdaguer, the second bishop of the Brownsville Vicariate Apostolic, moved his residence to Laredo in 1891, making San Agustin Church the bishop’s cathedral. San Agustin Church remained a cathedral until after the bishop’s death in October 1911. In 1912, the Brownsville Vicariate Apostolic was elevated to the Diocese of Corpus Christi and the bishop’s residence was transferred to the new Holy See, Corpus Christi.

In 1922, the diocese’s second bishop, Emmanuel Bolesiaus Ledvina, transferred San Agustin Parish to the care of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The parish remained with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate until it was transferred to the newly created Diocese of Brownsville in 1965.

On July 3, 2000, the Diocese of Laredo was created by Pope John Paul II and Auxiliary Bishop James Anthony Tamayo of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston became its bishop. San Agustin was designated the bishop’s home church and was once again designated a cathedral.

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, Victoria

County: Victoria County

Organized: 1824

Church Completed: 1904

Architecture: Gothic Revival

Location: 402 South Main Street

Significance: The first Catholic parish established canonically in the Republic of Texas

On April 13, 1824, Don Martin de Leon was granted a colonization grant by the Mexican government, and in October 1824, he brought forty-one Mexican families to the lower Guadalupe River to establish the settlement of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Jesus Victoria, now known as Victoria, Texas. Martin de Leon was the only Mexican impresario to establish a colony in Texas and Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Jesus Victoria was the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas.

Don Martin de Leon was a very religious man, and one of the first things that he did after establishing the colony was build a Catholic church. The small church building was built of crude hand-hewn logs and timber and was completed in 1830. Don Martin dedicated it Nuestra de Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Guadalupe. Don Martin planned to later build a larger, grander church, but he died of cholera in the epidemic of 1833.

After Texas won its independence from Mexico in April 1836, most of the Mexican families in Victoria fled to Mexico and then the Anglo-American quickly resettled the area. In 1840, Father Jean Odin arrived in Victoria to reorganize the Catholic Church, thus making it the first Catholic parish established canonically in the Republic of Texas. The first resident pastor, Father Eudaldus Estany, started holding Mass at Our Lady of the Guadalupe in July of that year.

Father Augustine Gardet arrived at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in 1856, and he was the pastor for the next thirty-five years. It was during his pastorate that the parish built a new brick church at the corner of Bridge and Church Streets on land donated by the widow of Don Martin de Leon. The new church building was dedicated on November 4, 1863.

Plans for the present Gothic Revival edifice were originally drawn by the renowned Texas architect Nicholas J. Clayton, who was famous for his Victorian- and Gothic-style buildings. The cornerstone of the church was laid on September 10, 1903 when, at the same time, the name of the church was officially changed from Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Mary. Father Sheehan dedicated the new church in October 1904, and in 1905, the beautiful stained-glass windows were installed.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Saint Mary’s Parish, Hallettsville

County: Lavaca County

Organized: 1840

Church Completed: 1896

Architecture: Wood frame Gothic Revival

Location: 1648 FM 340, from Hallettsville take US-90 Alt West 2.6 miles, then 2 miles north on FM 340

Significance: Oldest rural Catholic parish in Texas

Early Catholic settlers in the Hallettsville area were followers of impresarios Green DeWitt and Stephen F. Austin who in the early 1830s assigned them homesteads along the Lavaca River. A few Irish Catholic families settled in the vicinity in 1836, and in early 1840 celebrated their first Mass with the traveling priest Father George Haydon. Father Edward A. Clarke accompanied Father Haydon on his subsequent trips. The two missionary priests began celebrating Mass with these pioneer settlers once a month. In late 1840, with the guidance of fathers Haydon and Clarke, the settlers built their first church. Later in the same year, Father Jean Marie Odin, vice-prefect Apostolic of Texas, dedicated the little church naming it Saint Mary’s Catholic Church. Saint Mary’s Parish is considered the oldest rural Catholic parish in Texas.

On May 4, 1847,