St. Anthony Catholic Parish
Harper, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The community of Harper, named after George Franklin Harper, grew in the 1880s when pioneers from surrounding settlements moved to the area. Prior to the establishment of a Catholic church, families drove horses and wagons twenty-five miles to the Catholic church in Fredericksburg. Because of this exigency, the Catholic Diocese of San Antonio assigned Father Frederick Fassbender to say mass here in 1908. The first mass in Harper was held at the home of Jacob Fielder on St. Patrick’s day in 1908. Father Fassbender, the trustees, and parishioners sacrificed time and money to build the St. Anthony Catholic Church, dedicated on August 10, 1909. The generosity of the church members and the community contributed to many of the integral pieces of the church, including the altar, bell, cross, crucifix, statues, and a tapestry dated 1887. St. Anthony Catholic Parish added to their campus over the years with a cemetery in 1911, a rectory in 1920 and 1970, a parish hall in 1933 and 2007, and a new church in 1958. The parish hall has operated for many years as a location for social activities such as weddings, games, bazaars, parties, and events for the community. Many of St. Anthony’s parishioners proudly served their country in the armed forces, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. The parishioners also contributed to their community through the church choir, vacation bible school, or with youth activities, events, or community projects for the people of Harper and Gillespie County. For more than a century, St. Anthony’s Catholic Parish served, and continues to serve, the church, community, state, and nation.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Before Harper had a Catholic church, families hitched horses and wagons for the twenty-five-mile trek to Fredericksburg to attend mass. That hardship prompted the Diocese of San Antonio to send Father Frederick Fassbender in 1908, and the first mass was said in a parishioner's home on St. Patrick's Day that year. Built through community sacrifice and dedicated in 1909, St. Anthony's grew over the following century with a cemetery, rectory, parish hall, and a new church, remaining a hub of worship and social life.
Why it matters
It reflects how scattered rural settlers built their own religious and community institutions, knitting a frontier crossroads into a lasting town.
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Related people
- · Frederick Fassbender
Themes & tags
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