St. James' Episcopal Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about St. James' Episcopal Church in Hallettsville, Lavaca County. Pull up a chair, because this one goes back a good ways.

All the way to 1836, when a woman named Margaret Hallett donated the very land that would become the townsite of Hallettsville. Families were already putting down roots in the area by then, and settlement kept on growing through the rest of the nineteenth century. Now, fast forward to July of 1875.

General Arthur Pendleton Bagby and his wife Frances, born a Taylor, had a need. Six children, and none of them baptized. So they reached out to the Reverend Thomas J.

Morris, a missionary working out of Columbus, and asked him to come on down to Hallettsville and take care of that. He did. And that one visit set something in motion.

Later that same year, the Right Reverend R.W.B. Elliott, missionary bishop of Western Texas, came through Hallettsville himself. Then in 1876, the congregation known as St.

James' was accepted into the Diocese of West Texas. A church was born. Well, nearly born.

In those early days, the congregation had no building of its own. They gathered in the Odd Fellows Lodge hall, a place that went by another name too: St. James' Missionary Hall.

There's a certain scrappy charm in that, meeting in a borrowed room with a borrowed name, building something from nothing. In 1880, the congregation purchased a lot on East Third Street. And through the efforts of Mary Kroschel, Jane Viser, and the Bagby family, the church constructed its first sanctuary the very next year. 1881, a place of their own at last.

The people who filled those pews in those early years weren't forgotten. Many of the active early congregation members were commemorated in stained glass windows, carrying their memory in color and light. And when a new church building went up in 1962 at this very site, those windows came with it.

They made the journey. Throughout its history, St. James' has been a mission church, sharing ministers with other Episcopal congregations across the region.

In 1995, that spirit of partnership got formalized when St. James' joined with seven other congregations from nearby communities to form a network of support together. Today, the members work locally, running food pantries, caring for the infirm, showing up for their neighbors.

And they reach further out too, lending themselves to national and international causes. A congregation that started with a missionary's river visit and six children needing baptism has, through worship, study, ministry, and outreach, kept growing into something that reaches well beyond that borrowed lodge hall on the frontier. The stained glass moved, and so did the mission.

What the marker says

The community of Hallettsville began in 1836, when Margaret Hallett donated land for the townsite. By that time, there were several families living in the area, and settlement increased throughout the 19th century. In July 1875, Gen. Arthur Pendleton Bagby and his wife Frances (Taylor) asked the Rev. Thomas J. Morris, a missionary out of Columbus, to come to Hallettsville and baptize their six children. Later that year, the Rt. Rev. R.W.B. Elliott, missionary bishop of Western Texas, visited Hallettsville, and in 1876 the congregation known as St. James' was accepted into the Diocese of West Texas. Church members initially met in the Odd Fellows Lodge hall, which was also known as St. James' Missionary Hall. In 1880, the congregation purchased a lot on East Third Street, and through the efforts of Mary Kroschel, Jane Viser, and the Bagby family, the church constructed its first sanctuary the next year. Many of the active early congregation members were commemorated in stained glass windows, which were moved to a new church building constructed in 1962 at this site. Throughout its history, the congregation has been a mission church, sharing ministers with other Episcopal churches in the region. In 1995, St. James' joined with seven other congregations from nearby communities to form a partnership. Together, the churches are a network of support. Locally, St. James' members participate in community service activities, including food pantries and care for the infirm. Members also work together to help national and international causes. Through worship, study, ministry and outreach, the church continues to support its members and its community. (2006)