St. John's Episcopal Church
Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This church was established in 1871 following Episcopal missionary efforts which began in the Corsicana area in the 1850s. Started as a mission, St. John's was organized under the leadership of the Rev. Virginius Gee. In 1874 the first church building was constructed at this site on property donated by E. J. and W. S. Simkins. The parish was formally organized two years later. An Episcopal school, the first in the Dallas Diocese, operated here during the 1940s. Actively involved in the area, the parish also sponsors St. Alban's Mission in Hubbard (27 mi. SW).
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
St. John's grew from Episcopal missionary work that reached the Corsicana area in the 1850s, organizing as a mission in 1871 under the Rev. Virginius Gee. Three years later the congregation built its first church on land donated by the Simkins family, and the parish was formally established by 1876. In the 1940s it ran an Episcopal school said to be the first in the Dallas Diocese.
Why it matters
Frontier churches often doubled as the region's first schools, seeding both the spiritual and educational life of growing Texas towns.
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Related people
- · Virginius Gee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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