DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The Church of the Advent, down in Cameron County — this is one of those stories that starts quiet and just keeps going. We're talkin' about one of the earliest Episcopal congregations ever organized in the state of Texas.
Founded in 1851. Eighteen fifty-one. That's not a typo.
Texas had barely sorted itself out as a state, and somebody in this corner of the Rio Grande Valley was already plantin' a congregation. The Reverend William Passmore stepped in as the first Rector, and within just a few years — by 1854 — a church building was standing in the downtown area. That's a community putting its intentions on the map in stone and timber.
But here's where the story takes a turn. 1867. A hurricane. And just like that, the building was destroyed.
Gone. Now, you'd think that might be the end of the tale — nature has a way of making final arguments — but this congregation wasn't writing its last chapter. They rebuilt.
By 1877, there was a church standing again. Ten years of work and will. Then comes 1926.
A Scottish architect by the name of Thomas McLaren put his hand to the drafting table, and what he designed was something to see. They built it through 1926 and into 1927 — a Mission style structure with a domed tower, a barrel tile roof, and a curvilinear parapet. A building that looks like it belongs to no single place and every place at once.
From 1851 to that finished tower, this congregation outran a hurricane and outlasted a century. That, friend, is how you plant a church in Texas.
What the marker says
One of the earliest Episcopal churches organized in Texas, this congregation was founded in 1851. The Rev. William Passmore served as first Rector, and by 1854 a church building was completed in the downtown area. Destroyed by a hurricane in 1867, it was rebuilt by 1877. The current building was designed by Scottish architect Thomas McLaren and built in 1926-1927. The Mission style structure features a domed tower, barrel tile roof, and curvilinear parapet.