St. Joseph Catholic Church

The parish grew up under a shifting map of church authority. The country of today's Diocese of El Paso belonged to the Diocese of Durango from 1620 to 1872, to the Vicariate of Tucson until 1890 and to the Diocese of Dallas until 1914, and the Handbook notes that West Texas east of El Paso answered to Dallas in its early years. The Diocese of El Paso was created in March 1914. Its first bishop, the Jesuit John J. Brown, resigned before he was consecrated, and another Jesuit, Anthony J. Schuler, led it from 1915 to 1940.

What the plaque says

St. Joseph Catholic Church Catholic clergy began serving residents of the Fort Davis area about 1872. Father Joseph Hoban was appointed pastor in 1876 and the First St Joseph Catholic Church building was erected in 1879. Father Hoban was followed by circuit-riding priest who regarded St. Joseph's as the central church of the region. Father Brocardus Eeken came to Fort Davis in 1892. He and fellow Carmelite friars traveled thousands of miles each year, ministering to the 18 churches and mission stations in the Trans-Pecos and Big Bend. A new church was consecrated in 1899. Many parishes, including those in Alpine and Marfa, were created from this parish. father Brocardus retired in 1935. St Joseph Catholic Church continues to serve a large and diverse congregation. (1999)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Davis National Historic Site — 0.5 mi
  A frontier post of 1854 to 1891 on the San Antonio-El Paso Road, garrisoned after the Civil War by Black regiments, with its buildings restored to their 1880 look.
• Davis Mountains State Park & Indian Lodge — 2.8 mi
  A 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps park above Fort Davis, with the CCC's Skyline Drive, the white adobe Indian Lodge and a trail down to the old fort.
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens — 5.0 mi
  The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute's grounds south of Fort Davis, with an 18-acre botanical garden, a cactus museum and trails into the desert foothills.
• McDonald Observatory — 9.6 mi
  The University of Texas observatory on Mount Locke, founded with a Paris, Texas banker's fortune, with star parties three nights a week under some of the darkest skies in the country.

More markers nearby

• San Antonio-El Paso Road — 0.3 mi
• Fort Davis — 0.3 mi
• Hotel Limpia — 0.5 mi
• Old Fort Davis C. S. A. — 0.6 mi