Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church
Bryan, Brazos County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This parish traces its origin to Episcopal services held in nearby Millican in 1864. A yellow fever epidemic in the Millican area prompted the relocation of the Saint Andrew's Mission to Bryan in 1867. A parish was formed that year and led by The Rev. Robert Jope. The original church structure, located near this site, was consecrated by Bishop Alexander Gregg in 1868. The Rev. Randolph Ray held the first service in a new church building at this location in 1914. In 1992 Saint Andrew's celebrated 125 years of service and participation in a variety of community programs and activities.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This parish grew from Episcopal services held in nearby Millican in 1864, but a yellow fever epidemic drove the mission to relocate to Bryan in 1867, where a parish formed that same year. Its first church was consecrated in 1868, and a new sanctuary opened at this location in 1914. Across a century and a quarter, Saint Andrew's became a fixture of Bryan's community life.
Why it matters
The parish's flight from yellow fever is a reminder of how epidemics reshaped where and how Southern communities took root in the Reconstruction years.
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Related people
- · Robert Jope
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Carved from Washington County in 1841 as part of Stephen F. Austin's colony, this county was first called Navasota with its seat at Boonville, then renamed Brazos in 1842. Through the Civil War, Millican flourished as the end of the railroad from Houston, but when the line pushed north Bryan became the county seat in 1866. The 1876 opening of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas — now Texas A&M — drew College Station into being around it.
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