Saint Peter's Episcopal Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1881, a small band of pioneer Episcopalians in Kerr County didn't have a church of their own, so they did what resourceful Texans do: they borrowed somebody else's building. The Kerr County Courthouse, to be exact.

Now picture that. Sunday morning, the same room where disputes got settled and deeds got recorded, suddenly filled with hymns and prayer. That's a congregation that was not going to be stopped by a little thing like not having a building.

And sure enough, between 1884 and 1888, they erected one. A small frame Gothic church, which sounds simple enough until you try to build anything in the Hill Country and realize that every piece of lumber had a story of its own before it became a wall. The Rev.

J. E. Hole came on as the first resident rector, serving from 1890 to 1891.

Then came the Rev. Richard Galbraith, 1894 to 1908, holding the distinction of first permanent rector. That's staying power.

In 1908, Saint Peter's became a full parish, and the Rev. J. E.

Ellis stepped in as rector, serving through 1913. Now here's the part that tends to make people stop and squint a little. Ellis founded a Boy Scout troop right here at Saint Peter's, before scouting had originated nationally.

Let that settle in. A Boy Scout troop, in the Texas Hill Country, before anyone had officially decided what a Boy Scout troop was supposed to be. Some ideas just arrive early to the party.

The congregation kept growing, and in 1928 they built the present church. Annexes came along later. And today the membership has grown greatly, including descendants of those very same early communicants who once gathered at a courthouse and decided that was good enough for now, but not forever.

Saint Peter's didn't wait for the world to catch up. It never really did.

What the marker says

Pioneer Episcopalians worshiped at the Kerr County Courthouse in 1881. In 1884-88, they erected a small frame Gothic church. The Rev. J. E. Hole served 1890-91 as first resident rector; the Rev. Richard Galbraith, 1894-1908, as first permanent rector. In 1908 Saint Peter's became a parish. The Rev. J. E. Ellis, 1908-13 rector, founded a Boy Scout troop here, before scouting had originated nationally. The present church was built in 1928. Annexes were added later. The greatly enlarged membership includes descendants of early communicants. (1977)