St. Paul's Episcopal
Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
City's oldest church. Dedicated by pioneer Bishop A.C. Garrett, 1885. Lancet windows, doors. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
St. Paul's is Waxahachie's oldest church, dedicated in 1885 by the pioneer Episcopal bishop A.C. Garrett. Its lancet windows and doors mark it as a work of Gothic Revival taste on the North Texas prairie. More than a century on, it remains a landmark of the town's beginnings.
Why it matters
A town's first church often stands as the oldest witness to its founding, anchoring civic identity as the settlement grew up around it.
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Related people
- · A. C. Garrett
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Ellis County Courthouse
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Ellis County went through three modest courthouses — cedar logs in 1850, then buildings in 1853 and 1874 — before commissioning San Antonio architect James Riely Gordon to design this fourth one in 1894. Its cornerstone laid on July 4, 1895, the courthouse was built of Central Texas granite and Pecos River red sandstone, with entrances oriented to the true compass points and faces carved by European stonemasons. Gordon's Richardsonian Romanesque masterpiece set a new standard for public buildings across Texas.
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