Christ Episcopal Church
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded 1848 when the Rev. Henry Sansom (1821-1903) came as a missionary to East Texas at request of Mrs. Frances Cox Henderson, wife of Gen. J. Pinckney Henderson, first governor of State of Texas. This was one of original churches in the Diocese of Texas. Christ Church congregation, after holding services in the county courthouse, built (1851) first Protestant church in Nacogdoches. A lot was donated for church by former empresario Haden Edwards, but structure was erected at 108 N. church Street, a site given by Frost Thorn, one of earliest Anglo-American settlers and husband of Susan Edwards, an early communicant. Second church for this parish was erected 1902 on Washington Square, campus of Nacogdoches University. Architect-builder was Dietrich A. G. Rulfs (1848-1926). In 1937, this replica was erected, using plans and materials from that structure, including altar and woodwork carved by the Rev. George L. Crocket (1861-1936), who served intervals as rector, 1888-1936. Under the Rev. Scott Field Bailey, rector 1946-51, later suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Texas, a day school was founded. In later years, the parish expanded its buildings and increased its ministry to students of Stephen F. Austin State University.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1848, Christ Episcopal Church took root in Nacogdoches when the Rev. Henry Sansom answered a call to missionary work in East Texas, urged on by Frances Cox Henderson, wife of Texas's first governor. After worshiping in the county courthouse, the congregation built the first Protestant church in town in 1851 on land given by early Anglo settlers. Rebuilt over the generations, the present 1937 replica preserves altar and woodwork carved by a long-serving rector, and the parish later founded a day school and ministered to Stephen F. Austin students.
Why it matters
As one of the original churches of the Diocese of Texas and the first Protestant congregation in one of the state's oldest towns, it marks the planting of organized faith on the East Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · Rev. Henry Sansom
- · Frances Cox Henderson
- · Dietrich A. G. Rulfs
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Stone Fort Museum
Nacogdoches, TX
The original Old Stone Fort, built in the late 1700s under Spanish rule, was a fixture through decades of upheaval in East Texas before its demolition in 1902 sparked statewide dismay and helped galvanize the historic-preservation movement. A local women's club opened a memorial building in 1908, and as the 1936 Texas Centennial approached, historical organizations pressed for a truer replica. Designed by Hal B. Tucker on the campus of what is now Stephen F. Austin State University, the Stone Fort Museum opened in 1936 and has since interpreted the Spanish and Mexican eras of Texas history.
Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College During World War II
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When the United States entered World War II after Pearl Harbor, the president of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College gathered students and faculty to meet the national emergency—and the campus emptied into the war. Enrollment fell by sixty percent, football was suspended, and a campus flag bore more than a thousand blue stars for those serving and twenty-four gold ones for those who died. In a notable distinction, the Army chose SFA in 1943 as the first college in the nation to host a Women's Army Corps training school. After the war, returning veterans on the G.I. Bill swelled the college and its recreation grounds were rededicated as Memorial Park and Memorial Stadium.
Rusk Building
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The University Tradition in Nacogdoches
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Nacogdoches inherited a sense of scholarly duty from the Spanish friars of its mission, and prominent citizens like Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk championed learning. The Republic of Texas chartered Nacogdoches University in 1845, and townspeople gave money, land, and labor to build it, moving the school to Washington Square in 1858. Through Civil War hardship and changing hands among churches and colleges, the town's devotion to education persisted—culminating decades later in its successful campaign to win Stephen F. Austin State Normal College.