Trinity Episcopal Church
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of the oldest Episcopal churches in Texas. An outgrowth of 1840s work in Caddo Lake area by the Rev. William Steel of Louisiana, and of appeals for priests made by Frances Cox Henderson (wife of the diplomat, Governor, U.S. Senator, J. Pinckney Henderson) to the church in the United States. Trinity parish was founded Jan. 4, 1851, with 22 members, by the Rev. Henry Sansom (1821-1903), who was rector 1851-55. Original membership included E. G. Benners, later a priest; also the Key family, who remain in parish a century later. Communicants have included Confederate Generals Benjamin Huger and Louis T. Wigfall, and 20th century jurist T. Whitfield Davidson. The Rev. Edwin A. Wagner (rector intermittently, 1859-75), the Rev. C. C. Kramer (1909-14), the Rev. C. S. Sargent (1914-21) and others built spiritual strength of the parish and advocated a permanent church edifice to replace successive early structures. Present church was built in 1926-26, when the Rev. Charles S. Monroe was rector. It was dedicated by Bishop Clinton S. Quin, July 25, 1926. Architect was J. W. Northrup, Jr., Houston. The Rev. Henry F. Selcer (1930-56) achieved record for longest service as rector. Parish in 1972 had 508 members. Its day school renders community service.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Trinity parish, one of the oldest Episcopal churches in Texas, grew out of 1840s mission work near Caddo Lake and appeals for priests made by Frances Cox Henderson, wife of a governor and U.S. senator. Founded in 1851 with 22 members, its rolls over the years included Confederate generals and a 20th-century jurist, and a series of long-serving rectors built the parish toward the permanent 1926 church that stands today. Its day school continues a tradition of community service stretching back generations.
Why it matters
The parish links a frontier Texas town to the wider currents of American religious, political, and Civil War–era history through the people who worshiped there.
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Related people
- · Frances Cox Henderson
- · Henry Sansom
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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