Episcopal Church of the Annunciation
Luling, Caldwell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Luling's first church building. The Rt. Rev. Robert W. B. Elliott (1840-87), first bishop, missionary district of western Texas, enroute to his see city, held his original service in the district in a Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway passenger car in Luling on Dec. 20, 1874, eight months after town's founding. Early in 1875, the Rev. Wallace Carnahan preached here. The rev. Nelson Ayres arrived as vicar in Feb. 1876 and began to build this chapel with his own hands, conducting first service in it on April 15, 1877. Church was remodeled in 1938 and 1965.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Luling's very first church building rose from the frontier energy of a brand-new railroad town founded in 1874. The area's first Episcopal bishop held his inaugural service in the missionary district inside a railway passenger car in Luling that December, and within a few years the Rev. Nelson Ayres arrived as vicar and built this chapel largely with his own hands, leading its first service in 1877.
Why it matters
The little chapel captures how faith followed the rails into raw new Texas towns, its founding vicar literally hammering a congregation into being.
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Related people
- · Nelson Ayres
- · Robert W. B. Elliott
- · Wallace Carnahan
Themes & tags
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