1888 - St. Patrick Cathedral - Fort Worth, TX - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

"The roots of Saint Patrick Cathedral date from the 1860s, when Catholic religious services were held in private homes and in a hardware store in Ft. Worth. In 1870 a small chapel was built in the yard of the Carrico family and used for Catholic religious services. Ft. Worth's first Catholic pastor. Father Thomas Loughery, was appointed in 1874. In 1875 he purchased the property on which the Cathedral was built for $100 from John Peter Smith. The small chapel was moved from Carrico's yard to the new site and named Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church.

In 1884 Father Marie Jean Guyot (d. 1907), a native of France, succeeded Father Loughery as the congregation's new pastor. Through Father Guyot's inspiration, the congregation voted to build a large church. By tradition it was modeled after the French Gothic churches of Guyot's homeland. Ground was broken and a foundation for the church was laid as early as 1885. Construction was begun in 1888, but because of a local financial depression, the church was not completed until 1892. To finish the church, Guyot borrowed $25,000 from Weigman's Bank in Amsterdam. The new church was executed as planned, except that the twin towers flanking the eastern facade were never completed, and remained only as tall as the church itself. Saint Patrick's exterior limestone was handcrafted by Andrew Cowan, a master stonemason from Scotland. Twenty-five of the 35 stained-glass windows were made in Munich, Germany, and imported in 1892. The remaining 10 are newer, and were made by the Emil Freg Art Glass Company of Saint Louis. Each of 18 interior granite columns was cut as one piece and polished by a horse-drawn lathe. The marble main altar was designed by Father Guyot."

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