DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. George's Episcopal Church in Texas City, Galveston County. Now, some congregations are born in grand cathedrals with stained glass and pipe organs.
St. George's Episcopal Church got its start on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, in someone's living room — and if that doesn't set the tone for everything that followed, just wait. Texas City had only incorporated two years before that first service.
The United States Army had just arrived that same year, part of its coastal defense of American interests during the Mexican Revolution. And it was the Army's own chaplain — the Reverend C. W.
Freeland, serving the 6th Cavalry stationed right there in Texas City — who presided at that Easter Day service. That summer, the Right Reverend George H. Kinsolving, Bishop of Texas, made it official.
He organized the new congregation as a mission, and he gave it a name: St. George's. For the next couple of years, the faithful gathered in the homes of members — no building, no pews, just neighbors and faith.
Then, in the spring of 1915, things started looking up. St. George's purchased an Army recreation building, moved it to new property at 314 10th Avenue North, and had themselves a real church at last.
And then the hurricane hit. 1915. The storm destroyed that first church building. Gone.
Now here's the thing about St. George's — and you'll notice this pattern — they didn't quit. Right there in September of that same year, the first recorded baptisms were held.
And in 1917, Bishop Kinsolving came back to confirm seven members in the congregation's first confirmation class. Seven people, no building to speak of, still going. Around 1923, a new frame chapel was completed on property at 10th Avenue and 4th Street.
Things steadied. The congregation grew. By 1940, St.
George's had grown strong enough to move from mission to parish status — self-supporting, standing on its own two feet. And then the next decade came calling with everything it had. World War II.
The 1947 Texas City explosion. And somewhere in the middle of all that grief and upheaval, the beginnings of a booming city economy. St.
George's lived through all of it. The 1950s brought growth — real, measurable, brick-and-mortar growth. A new church building at this very site.
A rectory a few blocks east. A classroom and office wing. A parish hall.
The kind of building that says, we're not going anywhere. Of course, Texas had a few more words on the subject. Hurricane Carla came through in 1961 and caused much damage.
Then, as if one generation's trials weren't enough, a disastrous fire in 1983 hit the facilities hard. But the members of St. George's persevered.
They kept on with worship, education, community outreach — their mission carried right on into the 21st century. From a cavalry chaplain's Easter service in 1913 to surviving storms, explosions, and fire across nearly a hundred years — St. George's didn't just endure Texas.
It became part of it.
What the marker says
St. George's Episcopal Church The first Episcopal worship service in Texas City took place on March 23, 1913, two years after the city incorporated and the same year the United States Army arrived as part of its coastal defense of American interests during the Mexican Revolution. The Rev. C. W. Freeland, chaplain to the 6th Cavalry stationed in Texas City at the time, presided at the Easter Day service. That summer, the Rt. Rev. George H. Kinsolving, Bishop of Texas, organized the new congregation as a mission to be known as St. George's. Worship services were held in the homes of members until the spring of 1915. In that year, St. George's purchased and moved an Army recreation building to its new property at 314 10th Avenue North. Despite the destruction of its first church building in the 1915 Hurricane, the first recorded baptisms were held in September 1915, and Bishop Kinsolving confirmed the seven members in the first confirmation class in 1917. A new frame chapel, built on property at 10th Avenue and 4th Street, was completed about 1923. In 1940, St. George's became self-supporting and moved from mission to parish status. Within the next decade, the congregation experienced World War II, the 1947 Texas City explosion and the beginnings of a booming city economy. During the 1950s, the growing congregation constructed a new church building at this site, a rectory a few blocks east, a classroom and office wing, and a parish hall. Hurricane Carla in 1961 and a disastrous fire in 1983 caused much damage to the facilities, but the members of the congregation persevered to continue their mission and a variety of ministries, including worship, education, and community outreach, into the 21st century. (2003)