St. Philip's Episcopal Church

The bishop whose visit founded this church, Alexander Gregg, was a South Carolina lawyer turned clergyman who became bishop of Texas in 1859. The Handbook of Texas says he moved his family, slaves and household goods to Texas in January 1860. When secession came he held that the church in the Confederacy must follow the government and separate from the northern church. After the Confederacy failed he urged that the churches reunite, and five Texas deputies renewed the old ties at the 1865 General Convention in Philadelphia, which he could not attend.

What the plaque says

St. Philip's Episcopal Church Episcopal missionaries preached in Sulphur Springs as early as the 1860s. This church was founded in 1872 after Bishop Alexander Gregg and Father Francis R. Starr visited the community. For over 20 years, the small Episcopal congregation worshiped in the Presbyterian Church building. In 1887 C. M. Houston (1809-1896) and his wife Nancy (1823-1890) donated this land for a church site. The original portion of the present church structure was erected about 1895. It was later enlarged and remodeled. (1978)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cooper Lake State Park — 15 mi
  Two units on Jim Chapman Lake, a Corps reservoir proposed in the late 1930s, stalled by a lawsuit until 1984 and dedicated in 1991, with a 10.5-mile equestrian trail and wildlife land around it.

More markers nearby

• Atkins House — 0.9 mi
• George and Myra Wilson — 1.0 mi
• Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church — 1.0 mi
• First Presbyterian Church of Sulphur Springs — 1.1 mi