Saint Philip's Episcopal Church
Beeville, Bee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First Unit, transept, built 1893 on this site purchased in 1890 from heirs of G.W. McClanahan. In 1910, nave added with funds from sale of block of land given to the missionary jusidiction of Western Texas by English born H.W. Wilson, 1888. Early members donated furnishings, bell tower and 1896 inscribed memorial bell. First Protestant parochial school in county was organized here in 1954. Gothic design retained in 1964 renovation. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
St. Philip's built its first unit, a transept, in 1893 on land purchased three years earlier, adding a nave in 1910 with funds from property an English-born benefactor had given to the missionary district of Western Texas. Early members furnished the church and hung an inscribed memorial bell in 1896. In 1954 it opened the county's first Protestant parochial school, and a 1964 renovation preserved its Gothic design.
Why it matters
A small-town Episcopal parish that founded its county's first Protestant school shows how frontier congregations shaped not just worship but education in the communities they served.
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Related people
- · H. W. Wilson
- · G. W. McClanahan
Themes & tags
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