All Saints' Episcopal Church
San Benito, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Early area Episcopalians worshiped at Brownsville beginning in 1851. The first services in San Benito were organized by citizens such as Nettie G. King and Will Hinkly whenever a minister and space could be found. The retired Rev. William Henry Morrison first held services in the King building and in the early Methodist Church as well as other locations. Early church groups included the choir, the Altar Guild and the Ladies' Guild. Church women worked to raise money for a building, which was completed on this site in 1912. Heavily damaged by a storm in 1933, the church was rebuilt in 1935. The parish hall was used frequently for civic and social occasions from the 1950s. All Saints' Episcopal Church continues in the traditions of its founders. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Episcopalians around San Benito first gathered wherever a visiting minister and a room could be found, led in part by the retired Rev. William Henry Morrison in borrowed spaces such as the King building. Church women organized guilds and raised the money that built All Saints' on this site in 1912; after a 1933 storm wrecked the building, the congregation rebuilt it in 1935.
Why it matters
The parish shows how lay initiative—especially by women—planted enduring institutions across the young towns of the Rio Grande Valley.
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Related people
- · Nettie G. King
- · Will Hinkly
- · William Henry Morrison
Themes & tags
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