Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The earliest recorded visit of an Episcopal priest to Corpus Christi was that of the Rev. Lucius H. Jones in 1857. Three years later, a congregation was formally organized on the second floor of the Nueces County Courthouse. Bishop Alexander Gregg appointed the Rev. S.D. Davenport as the first minister. The women of the congregation soon organized a group known as the Dorcas Sewing Society, which over the years has provided much support to the church. The early years of the church were difficult ones. Corpus Christi's location on the edge of the frontier and the coming of the Civil War contributed to this difficulty. There are no recorded meetings of the church from 1862 until the end of the Civil War, and the congregation was without a minister for almost 11 years. During the late 1870s, the Church of the Good Shepherd constructed its first permanent building at the corner of Taylor and Chaparral streets. Additional facilities were built later, and in 1926 the congregation moved to its current location. Over the years, the church has emphasized programs of Christian education, ecumenical cooperation, and missionary activity in Corpus Christi. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Episcopal worship reached Corpus Christi in 1857, and by 1860 a congregation had formed on the second floor of the Nueces County Courthouse under the first minister appointed by Bishop Alexander Gregg. The Civil War fell hard on the frontier church—no meetings are recorded from 1862 until the war's end, and it went nearly eleven years without a minister. Recovering afterward, the congregation built its first permanent church in the late 1870s and moved to its present home in 1926.
Why it matters
The church's stop-and-start early decades show how the Civil War and frontier isolation tested fledgling congregations on the edge of Anglo settlement in South Texas.
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Related people
- · Rev. Lucius H. Jones
- · Bishop Alexander Gregg
- · Rev. S.D. Davenport
Related events
- · Organization of the congregation (1860)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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