Temple to the Brave

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Somewhere in the 1920s, a group of Beaumont women with a long name and a longer memory decided that Texas had given enough to the First World War that somebody ought to do something about it. That group was the Col.

George Moffett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution — the DAR — and what they had in mind wasn't a plaque or a flagpole. They were thinking a chapel. A proper memorial chapel, right there in Pipkin Park.

Now, plans circulated for several years. That's the polite way of sayin' it took a while to get the wheels turning. But in 1931, the city of Beaumont authorized the Col.

George Moffett Chapter to finance and oversee the construction. That word — finance — is where the story gets interesting, because this wasn't a government project with a government budget. This was people reaching into their own pockets during the Great Depression.

Which is not exactly the era you'd pick for a fundraiser. And yet. The DAR held statewide fundraisers.

The Beaumont Ministerial Alliance donated a Bible — destined for the altar inside the temple. Architects Livesay and Wiedemann, right there in Beaumont, donated their time to produce the plans and sketches. Local suppliers donated materials.

Piece by piece, stone by stone, the thing came together because enough people believed it ought to. The Col. George Moffett Chapter hired King-Huff Construction Co.

Inc. as the contractor. And despite everything the Depression was throwing at Beaumont and the rest of the country, the temple finished quickly. On October 19, 1932, it officially opened — dedicated to Texas military of all wars.

Not just the one that started the whole conversation. All of them. Now let me tell you what they built, because it's worth describin'.

The Temple to the Brave is a late gothic revival structure — rough finished manitou green stone cladding over brick, about eighteen feet wide and thirty-two feet deep. Buttresses on the outside. A Tudor arched entry.

Arched double entrance doors. Gothic arch and rose leaded glass windows that catch the light in ways that make you stop walkin'. Those windows were designed and produced by a master glass artisan named Roger D.

McIntosh, out of Dallas. And they aren't just decoration. Six windows on the side elevations each represent a pivotal year in Texas military history: 1685, 1689, 1824, 1836, 1861, and 1865.

Six windows, six years, each one carrying the weight of something Texas had to live through. For generations of Beaumont citizens, that little chapel in Pipkin Park has been a place of peace and reflection. Built during hard times, by people who donated what they had, to honor people who gave what they could.

That's not a small thing. That's exactly what a temple ought to be.

What the marker says

In the 1920s, the local Col. George Moffett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) conceived of a grand memorial to show appreciation for the many Texans who served during World War I. Plans circulated for several years, and in 1931, the city of Beaumont authorized the Col. George Moffett Chapter to finance and oversee construction of a memorial chapel in Pipkin Park. To finance the project, the DAR held state-wide fundraisers. The Beaumont Ministerial Alliance donated a bible to be placed at the altar inside the temple. Beaumont architects Livesay & Wiedemann donated their time to produce plans and sketches for the building. Many other local suppliers donated materials needed for the project. Despite the challenges of the Great Depression, citizens and businesses donated enough funds and services to see the temple finished quickly. The Col. George Moffett Chapter hired King-Huff Construction Co. Inc. as contractor. The temple officially opened October 19, 1932, dedicated to Texas military of all wars. The late gothic revival structure, comprised of rough finished manitou green stone cladding over brick, measures approximately 18 feet wide by 32 feet deep. Gothic details include buttresses, the Tudor arched entry and arched double entrance doors, and gothic arch and rose leaded glass windows. Master glass artisan Roger D. McIntosh of Dallas designed and produced the windows. Six windows on the side elevations represent six pivotal years of Texas military history: 1685, 1689, 1824, 1836, 1861 and 1865. For generations of Beaumont citizens, the Temple to the Brave has been a place of peace and reflection. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK - 2023