St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally one of earliest homes in Fredericksburg. built by German settler Peter Walter. Walter built log cabin on lot, then began permanent home of fachwerk construction, 1846. He owned and farmed surrounding land while plying his trade of wagoner to Fort McKavett. House was bought by parish formed in 1952. Restored as a mission, it was consecrated by Bishop Everett H. Jones on St. Barnabas Day, dec. 16, 1954. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This building began not as a church but as one of Fredericksburg's earliest homes, built in 1846 by German settler Peter Walter, who raised a log cabin and then a permanent house of traditional fachwerk timber-and-plaster construction. Walter farmed the surrounding land and worked as a wagoner hauling goods to Fort McKavett. Purchased by a newly formed Episcopal parish in 1952, the old house was restored as a mission and consecrated as St. Barnabas in December 1954.
Why it matters
The building's journey from immigrant homestead to consecrated mission preserves the earliest German settlement fabric of Fredericksburg and the enduring reuse of the Hill Country's pioneer architecture.
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Related people
- · Peter Walter
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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