St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

The mission grew with the town. Marble Falls had hovered around 1,000 people for half a century, with 1,021 in 1940, but after the late 1940s it grew steadily, to 2,044 in 1950 and 2,161 in 1960, as newcomers settled in lakeside subdivisions. Catholic parishes came late to Burnet County: a Catholic church was not established at Burnet until 1930, and an African Methodist Episcopal church followed there in 1953. By the early 1980s the county's forty-seven churches counted about 10,329 members, the largest groups Southern Baptist, Church of Christ and United Methodist.

What the plaque says

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church By 1940, missionary priests of the Holy Cross Order were ministering to residents of Marble Falls. Beginning in 1951, Catholic residents worshipped in a local residence; by 1954, attendance had grown enough to warrant a mission. The Catholic community bought property that year and by 1957, the Texas Granite Company began construction on a granite structure. The first mass held in the new chapel occurred on Christmas Day of that year, though the structure was fully completed and dedicated in 1961. Since the church's early years, parishioners have aided needy residents of the area. Today, the church continues to serve as a religious and community leader in Marble Falls. (2008)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Longhorn Cavern State Park — 9.0 mi
  A cave carved by an underground river in the Hill Country, cleared of mud by hand in the 1930s and reached down 52 stone steps on a guided tour.
• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Doeskin Ranch — 12 mi
  A free federal refuge north of Lake Travis kept for two songbirds that need old juniper and oak, with trails at the Doeskin Ranch unit near Bertram.
• Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery — 12 mi
  A free federal hatchery below Inks Dam on the Colorado, with thirty production ponds that draw birds and a look at how fish are raised from egg to harvest.
• Inks Lake State Park — 13 mi
  A state park on a constant-level lake of the Colorado, between Buchanan and Inks dams, with pink granite and gneiss at the water and CCC work along Park Road 4.

More markers nearby

• Marble Falls Depot — 0.5 mi
• Michel's Drug Store — 0.8 mi
• Marble Falls Factory Site — 0.9 mi
• St. Frederick Baptist Church — 1.1 mi