St. James Church
Taylor, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First Episcopal services in Taylor were held 1878 by the Rev. E. Wickens, a missionary. Visitations were also made by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Gregg, first Bishop of Texas. Services were in homes and opera house. This church of cypress, oak and pine woods was completed 1893 in traditional cruciform plan. The organ installed in 1914 is still in use. The structure retains original stained glass windows and interior paneling. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1969
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Episcopal presence in the young railroad town of Taylor began in 1878 with services led by a traveling missionary and visits from Alexander Gregg, the first Bishop of Texas, held in homes and even the local opera house. By 1893 the congregation had raised a cruciform sanctuary of cypress, oak, and pine, its stained glass and interior paneling still intact, joined by a pipe organ installed in 1914 that plays on. It was recognized as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1969.
Why it matters
St. James reflects how frontier Texas communities put down permanent roots as churches followed the railroads, anchoring raw new towns with lasting institutions.
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Related people
- · E. Wickens
- · Alexander Gregg
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
First Christian Church of Taylor
Taylor, TX
Founded in December 1877 by twenty-two members newly arrived from their "old home" states, this congregation grew quickly after Gen. R. M. Gano preached a week of daily services. Meeting first in an Odd Fellows hall and then a modest 1878 building, the church raised its present Gothic Revival sanctuary in 1891, designed by architect E. B. Mackin.
First Presbyterian Church of Taylor
Taylor, TX
This Presbyterian congregation traces its roots to 1876, when it was tied to the church in nearby Georgetown and shared a minister, the Rev. John McMurray, who also ran a school across the street. Trustees bought this property in 1878 and completed a frame sanctuary by Thanksgiving that year, and the church called its first full-time pastor in 1889. After merging with a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation around 1910, the growing church built a new brick sanctuary in 1912–1913.
City of Taylor
Taylor, TX
When the International & Great Northern Railroad crossed Williamson County in 1876, it spawned a town called Taylorsville, named for railroad executive Moses Taylor, with lots sold that June and a post office opened in August. Sitting on a cattle trail, the town quickly became a major shipping point for cattle, then grew further after a second rail line arrived in 1882 and the community incorporated. Renamed simply Taylor in 1892, it added cotton to cattle and rails as pillars of a prosperous local economy.
Bill Pickett
Taylor, TX
Born around 1870 to a former slave and raised in Taylor, Bill Pickett revolutionized the rodeo by inventing "bulldogging," leaping from his horse to wrestle a steer to the ground by its horns. One of the very few Black cowboys on the circuit, he became an international sensation, performing across North America and Europe before a riding accident took his life in 1932. In 1971 he became the first African American inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.