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Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Goliad, Goliad County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Begun as a mission, 1861, by the Very Rev. W. R. Richardson, Dean of St. Mark's, San Antonio. R. P. Wilkinson donated site. Church was built 1882, consecrated in 1885 by the Rt. Rev. R. W. Elliott, first bishop of western Texas. Elevated to parish status in 1913, under the Rev. Frank Juhan, later bishop of Florida. (1972)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

St. Stephen's began in 1861 as a mission led by the Very Rev. W. R. Richardson of San Antonio, on a site donated by R. P. Wilkinson. The congregation built its church in 1882 and saw it consecrated in 1885 by the first bishop of Western Texas. Raised to parish status in 1913, the parish was then served by a rector who would later become bishop of Florida.

Why it matters

The church traces the spread of the Episcopal faith across frontier Texas from the Civil War era into the 20th century.

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Related people

  • · W. R. Richardson
  • · R. P. Wilkinson

Themes & tags

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