El Paso First Ward Chapel

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the El Paso First Ward Chapel. Now, every good story has a beginning, and this one starts not with a building — but with a gathering. The year was 1918, and in the city of El Paso, the first ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in all of Texas was organized.

Think about that for a moment. All of Texas — and it started right here, in El Paso. No grand chapel, no steeple reaching toward the sky.

Just members opening up their homes, pulling up chairs, making room. That's how a congregation gets its legs under it. After a while, those homes gave way to the Odd Fellows Hall, and the faithful kept on meeting, kept on gathering, year after year.

Then came 1931. That's when they built it — the chapel that still stands today. And they did not build it plain.

The El Paso First Ward Chapel went up in the Mission Revival style, which means if you're standing in front of it, you're looking at a rose window catching the light just so, a Renaissance arcade running along one facade like something that wandered in from another century, and a tower — its own arcade crowning the top. It is a building that knows it has a story to tell. From living rooms to a rented hall to a landmark of its own — the first ward in Texas put down roots and built something that lasted.

What the marker says

The first ward, or congregation, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) in Texas was organized in 1918 in El Paso. The ward met in members' homes and later in the Odd Fellows Hall until this chapel was built in 1931. The Mission Revival style structure features a rose window, a Renaissance arcade along one facade, and a tower with arcade. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984