McKinney Saint Peter's Episcopal Church
SAINT PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
ORGANIZED IN McKINNEY IN 1876, ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNATED A MISSION BY BISHOP ALEXANDER GARRETT (1832-1924) OF THE DIOCESE OF DALLAS. BECAUSE THE CHURCH OWNED NO PROPERTY, MEMBERS GATHERED IN OFFICES AND PRIVATE HOMES FOR MANY YEARS UNDER THE LEADER- SHIP OF PRIESTS EDWARD WICKINS, J. B. FITZPATRICK, AND G. B. GIBBS. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL WAS ORGANIZED IN 1883; IN 1890 TH MISSION WAS ELEVATED TO PARISH STATUS. THREE YEARS LATER A FRAME BUILDING WAS ERECTED ON THIS SITE TO HOUSE THE CONGRE- GATION. BUILT AT A COST OF $1,350. THE STRUCTURE WAS DE- SIGNED IN THE SHAPED OF A CROSS WITH AN ENTRANCE ON LAMAR STREET. THE FIRST FULL-TIME PRIEST TO SERVE ST. PETER'S WAS THE REV. H. K. BROUSE, WHO SERVED FROM 1893 TO 1895. HE WAS FOLLOWED BY A NUMBER OF DEDICATED RECTORS, BOTH FULL AND PART-TIME, WHO HAVE BEEN CREDITED WITH HOLDING THE CHURCH COMMUNITY TOGETHER. IN 1926, ARCHITECT C. W. BENGLE OF DENISON PATTERNED A NEW CHURCH BUILDING FOR ST. PETER'S BASED ON HIS OWN DESIGN FOR A DENISON EPISCOPAL CHURCH. CECIL HIGHT, A LOCAL CONTRACTOR, WAS THE BUILDER. IN 1959 AND 1960, THE CHURCH COMPLEX SUFFERED THREE FIRES; ONE DESTROYED THE SANCTUARY. A DALLAS ARCHITECT WAS THE DESIGNER FOR THE NEW, MODERN BUILDING, COMPLETED IN 1961 FOR $88,000. CHURCH MEMBERS FILLED THE SANCTUARY WITH MEMORIAL GIFTS. FROM ITS ORIGINAL MEMBERSHIP OF 35 IN 1899, ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH AHS GROWN INTO A LARGE PARISH, OFFERING A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS TO ITS MEMBERS AND THE COMMUNITY. Texas Historical marker, 1998 |