Zephyr Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the Zephyr Presbyterian Church. Now, most congregations can point to the day somebody drove the first nail. This one goes back to 1890, and for nearly two decades the people of Zephyr carried their faith without a building to call their own.

That changed in 1909, when members of the church and community volunteers got to work, and they brought in a Swiss stonemason by the name of John Chailette to help them finish the job right. Stone by stone, that building went up, and when it was done, it was done to last. Of course, a congregation in a small Texas town had to share what it had.

A minister came to preach twice a month, splitting his time between Zephyr and the nearby Blanket Presbyterian Church. Twice a month may not sound like much, but the church didn't sit idle in between. There were Sunday School classes, summer Bible school, and, maybe best of all, ice cream suppers.

For decades, those gatherings wove the church into the social and religious life of the community in a way no sermon schedule alone could have managed. But 1944 came, and the congregation disbanded. A building that had held so many voices on so many Sundays went quiet.

Then, four years later, in 1948, C. R. Boase donated the building, and just like that, the old stone church became a community center, for the benefit and pleasure of its citizens.

The congregation was gone, but John Chailette's stonework was still standing, still holding something together. Turns out that's not a bad legacy for one building to carry.

What the marker says

The congregation of the Zephyr Presbyterian Church traces its history to 1890. In 1909 members of the church and community volunteers, with the assistance of Swiss stonemason John Chailette completed a church building. Worship services were held twice a month by a minister shared with the nearby Blanket Presbyterian Church. Sunday School classes, summer Bible school, and ice cream suppers sponsored by the church contributed to the social and religious life of the community until 1944, when the church was disbanded. In 1948 the building became a community center. (1992) Text of supplemental plate: In 1948 this building was donated by C. R. Boase to become a community center for the benefit and pleasure of its citizens.