Stella Maris Chapel
Lamar, Aransas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Irish immigrant James W. Byrne (1787-1865), a veteran of the Texas Revolution, was an early settler of this area. He established the town of Lamar and, with his wife Harriet, sold land on Aransas Bay to the Catholic church for a chapel site. Byrne engaged a French architect to design the structure, which was completed in 1858. Called Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) Chapel, it was built of shellcrete, a shell-aggregate masonry. An important link with the area's early Roman Catholic heritage, the chapel was moved to this site in 1986. (1986)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Irish immigrant and Texas Revolution veteran James W. Byrne founded the port town of Lamar on Aransas Bay, and in the late 1850s he and his wife Harriet sold land for a Catholic chapel. Completed in 1858 and christened Stella Maris — 'Star of the Sea' — the little church was built of shellcrete, a local masonry of crushed shell, tying it to the Gulf coast that surrounded it.
Why it matters
The chapel is a rare surviving link to the Irish Catholic immigrants who helped settle the Texas coast, and its shell-aggregate walls embody a vernacular building tradition unique to the Gulf shore.
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Related people
- · James W. Byrne
- · Harriet Byrne
Themes & tags
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