Saint Helena's Episcopal Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to give it to you straight. Way back in 1873, before there was even a proper congregation to speak of, the first Episcopal worship service in all of Kendall County was held in a place called the Old Kuhfuss Hall, right there in Boerne. Just folks gathering where they could, which is about as Texas as it gets.

That was the seed of it. Then, eight years later, Bishop R. W.

B. Elliott came through and made it official, organizing the congregation of Saint Helena's in 1881. And not long after that, a small wooden church went up on this very site.

Small, wooden, and full of purpose. Now, a small wooden church will serve you well, and this one did, for decades. But by 1929, the congregation had grown beyond what those old wooden walls could hold.

The original building was razed, cleared right off the ground, to make room for something more enduring: a new limestone sanctuary. Limestone, the kind of material that says we're not going anywhere. And the story didn't stop there.

Over the years, educational facilities and office facilities were added, the church growing room by room alongside the town itself. Saint Helena's has been a part of Boerne history for over a century now, and more than once it's served as a center of community activities, which is really what a church is for when you get right down to it. From a borrowed hall in 1873 to limestone walls and a century of community, that little congregation Bishop Elliott organized put down roots that held.

What the marker says

The first Episcopal worship service in Kendall County was held in the Old Kuhfuss Hall in Boerne in 1873. St. Helena's congregation was organized by Bishop R. W. B. Elliott in 1881, and a small wooden church structure was erected on this site. By 1929 the need for a new church had arisen. The original wooden building was razed to make room for a new limestone sanctuary. Later additions have included educational and office facilities. St. Helena's Church, a part of Boerne history for over a century, has often served as a center of community activities. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986