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 OLDEST -- Protestant Church in Big Bend region - Marfa, TX Posted by:  Raven
N 30° 18.846 W 104° 01.327
13R E 594018 N 3353995
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Marfa, Texas, USA is the oldest Protestant Church in the Big Bend region (an area of roughly 38,000 sq miles).
Waymark Code: WMT6QY
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2016
Views: 2
St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located in the small city of Marfa, Texas. With a population of only 2,200 residents, Marfa -- the county seat and largest city of Presidio County -- is located in the remote Big Bend region of the state: it is 200 miles to the nearest airport and 90 miles to go shopping at a WalMart! The actual borders of Texas' "Big Bend" geographical region varies at times (depending on the source), but is often measured at around 38,000 square miles of scenic desert and mountainous terrain. The origins of St. Paul's Episcopal Church are attributed to Mary Walker Humphris, a pioneer settler from England, who came to Marfa and began a Sunday School service in the early 1880's. The Church itself was officially founded in 1897. Although the original church building was demolished in the late 1920's and the congregation moved to a new location by 1930, St. Paul's Episcopal Church is -- by all measures -- still the oldest Protestant Church in the entire Big Bend region, regardless of denomination (it is also the only Episcopal church in Marfa, and only one in three Episcopal churches in the entire region -- but that is beside the point). Per a Texas Historical Marker on the church building's grounds: " English natives John and Mary (Walker) Humphris came to Texas in the early 1870s and arrived in Marfa in 1883. John, his brother-in-law, James Walker, and partner Charles Murphy founded Humphris and Co., which became the largest mercantile between El Paso and San Antonio. Mary, a devout Episcopalian, organized the Union Protestant Sunday School, which met in the Humphris home with Mary teaching from the Bible and the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. John built an adobe church near their home to serve as a Union Protestant Church serving many denominations. The building on West Dallas Street became the San Pablo Mexican Methodist mission
In 1897, Bishop John Mills Kendrick gave permission to Marfa Episcopalians to build a separate church named St Paul's. Elizabeth Livesay donated lots on Highland Avenue and John and Mary Humphris paid for the building. The church was established as a mission of the Cathedral Church of St. John's in Albuquerque. In November 1928, the Chamber of Commerce hotel committee purchased the St. Paul's lot, and the Paisano Hotel was built on that site. In March 1929, Bishop Frederick B. Howden bought lots facing the Courthouse square from W.A. and Maudie Hord for a new church. Architect and engineer R. H. Mull drew initial plans, which were finlized by the El Paso architectural firm of Braunton and McGhee, who followed Mull's plans but designed a larger parish hall and an apartment for a resident priest. The Gothic Revival style church, completed in 1930, is built with hollow clay tile walls and river rock masonry exterior facing. Prominent features include lancet windows, and entry faced with a white stone surround, and a tall steeple. The oldest Protestant church in the the Big Bend region, St. Paul's continues to serve as a spiritual beacon and a center for community activities." --- A more detailed accounting of the Church, its remote location, and its congregation can be found on an online PDF document hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande's website: ( visit link)
Type of documentation of superlative status: Nearby Texas Historical Marker, erected by the Texas Historical Association in 2015
Location of coordinates: Marfa, TX
Web Site: [Web Link]
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