Church of the Redeemer
Eagle Pass, Maverick County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Chaplains at Fort Duncan held the earliest Episcopal services in Eagle Pass in the 1850s. The Rt. Rev. R. W. B. Elliott, first bishop of the Missionary District of West Texas, with $500 contributed by the Eagle Pass Ladies Aid Society, led in planning the construction of this edifice in 1886-87. William G. Hausser was awarded a contract for the construction at a cost of $3,150. The Gothic revival structure was apparently completed in late 1887. The Rev. A. H. Noll, the first resident priest, initiated services here in February 1888. Bishop James Steptoe Johnston consecrated the church building on Ascension Day, May 15, 1890, during a meeting of the district convocation. The church continued as a mission until January 14, 1895, when the parish of the Church of the Redeemer, with sixteen members, was organized. The Rev. J. D. Worrell, Jr., was ordained to the deaconate and the Rev. R. E. Dicus and the Rev. E. L. Browning, who served as rectors here, later became bishops. The Cunning Workers Club, a ladies organization which functioned from 1902 to 1953, donated many of the furnishings and a number of the stained glass windows. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Episcopal worship in Eagle Pass began with Army chaplains at Fort Duncan in the 1850s, but a permanent home waited until 1886, when Bishop R. W. B. Elliott and $500 raised by the Eagle Pass Ladies Aid Society launched construction. Builder William G. Hausser completed the Gothic Revival church for $3,150, and it was consecrated on Ascension Day 1890. Women's organizations remained the congregation's backbone, with the Cunning Workers Club furnishing much of the interior and its stained glass across half a century.
Why it matters
This frontier parish shows how women's benevolent societies literally built and outfitted the churches that anchored community life on the Texas–Mexico border.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Eagle Pass grew up on the Rio Grande opposite Piedras Negras, Mexico, at a key crossing point on the border. The U.S. Army set up Fort Duncan there around mid-century to guard the new international boundary and the frontier, and much of the early settlement grew up around the post.
On the Texas frontier, organized religion often arrived with the Army. Military chaplains held services for soldiers and for the few civilians nearby, and that is how Episcopal worship first came to Eagle Pass in the 1850s. For decades afterward, though, a small border town had little hope of supporting a permanent church building or a resident clergyman.
By the 1880s the picture was changing. Railroads were reaching South and West Texas, border trade was growing, and the Episcopal Church had organized a missionary district for the vast, thinly populated western part of the state. The church in Eagle Pass was built during that period of growth and organization.
People & events
The first chapter belongs to the Fort Duncan chaplains, who led the earliest Episcopal services in the 1850s. The decisive chapter came in 1886. Bishop R. W. B. Elliott, the first bishop of the Missionary District of West Texas, took the lead in planning a real church building. The money that made it possible came from the women of the town: the Eagle Pass Ladies Aid Society contributed $500 toward the project.
Builder William G. Hausser won the contract at $3,150. His Gothic Revival church seems to have been finished late in 1887, and the Rev. A. H. Noll, the first resident priest, held the first services in it in February 1888. On Ascension Day, May 15, 1890, Bishop James Steptoe Johnston consecrated the building while the district convocation was meeting. The congregation remained a mission until January 14, 1895, when sixteen members organized it as a full parish.
The little parish produced an unusual number of church leaders. One man was ordained a deacon here, and two of its rectors later became bishops. Throughout its history, though, the steadiest support came from women. The Cunning Workers Club, a ladies' organization active from 1902 to 1953, gave many of the furnishings and a number of the stained glass windows. For half a century, its members largely shaped what worshippers saw when they came inside.
Its place in the American story
The Church of the Redeemer illustrates how important women were to building American religious life, even when official leadership belonged to men. Bishops and priests appear on the records, but in town after town, women's aid societies and guilds raised the money, held the fairs and suppers, and supplied the furnishings that turned a building into a sanctuary. Here the women were there at the start with the Ladies Aid Society's $500, and they stayed involved for decades through the Cunning Workers Club.
The church also reflects the Army's role in settling the American West. Frontier forts brought the first doctors, chaplains and institutions to many remote areas, and civilian communities often grew up in their shadow. Episcopal worship in Eagle Pass traces directly back to Fort Duncan.
The building also connects to a national architectural movement. Gothic Revival design, with its pointed arches and vertical lines, became the favorite style for American churches in the nineteenth century, especially Episcopal ones. Building in that style at the edge of the country put this small border church in the same tradition as grand churches in the East.
If you visit
Look closely at the building. Its Gothic Revival features, such as pointed openings and a steep, upward-reaching profile, were a deliberate choice for a frontier town in the 1880s. They tied a modest border congregation to a style associated with the great churches of the East and of England.
When you look at the stained glass, remember that much of it came from the women of the Cunning Workers Club. It is a lasting record of fifty years of fundraising and devotion. The building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and remains a place of worship, so be considerate of services and members.
Eagle Pass is a rewarding stop on a trip along the Texas border. The river, the international crossing to Piedras Negras, and the legacy of Fort Duncan together explain how this town grew, and how a church begun by Army chaplains became a parish of its own.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · R. W. B. Elliott
- · William G. Hausser
Themes & tags
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