Some of Corpus Christi's oldest churches began with just a handful of early settlers meeting in homes with visiting pastors.
Small groups of like-minded neighbors came together, collected funds and raised their early shellcrete, adobe and wooden sanctuaries.
Today, the traces of these early structures are mostly gone. Small chapels were pummeled by hurricanes and succumbed to fire. In times of prosperity, Corpus Christi congregations outgrew their original homes and built new church buildings, at times splitting to form new congregations in new neighborhoods.
Though their structures have changed, some of Corpus Christi's earliest churches are still active, filling buildings from the 1930s to 1950s.
Here are the stories of a few of Corpus Christi's
oldest churches:
First Methodist Church of Corpus Christi
The first Methodist church in Corpus Christi was established in 1853, formed by Rev. Henderson Lafferty with 18 charter members. Seven years earlier, the first Methodist minister to preach in Corpus Christi addressed a group soldiers encamped on the bayfront during the Mexican-American War.
According to a 1947 Caller-Times article, the soldiers in 1846 included Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin Pierce.
The 1853 shellcrete structure was located on the corner of Chaparral and Mann streets, on land purchased from town founder Col. Henry L. Kinney, according to the Nueces County Historical Commission. Before other Protestant denominations constructed their own churches, they also worshipped in the Methodist building.
The church served as a community center, schoolhouse and even an emergency hospital during fever epidemics.
In 1926, the church advertised itself as “The Place with a Welcome” and “Corpus Christi’s Big Downtown Church” in the Corpus Christi Times and the Corpus Christi Caller.
In 1947, the congregation purchased its current location on Shoreline Boulevard, constructing its fourth iteration.
Today, the church is recognizable for the distinctive “It Is I” statue depicting Jesus Christ standing at the front of a small boat, though many believe the statue looks like a “Surfing Jesus.”
Old St. Patrick’s Church/Our Lady of the Sea
St. Patrick’s was the first Catholic church in Corpus Christi, built in the 1850s on land donated by Henry Kinney, near Tancahua Street.
The original adobe building was replaced by a larger building dedicated in 1882. The structure, designed by parish member Charles Carroll, had two towers.
St. Patrick’s was designated as a cathedral in 1912. The building was damaged by a fire in 1938, leading the diocese to plan for a new cathedral.
Eleven years after the new Corpus Christi Cathedral was dedicated in 1940, St. Patrick’s was repurposed as Our Lady Star of the Sea on East Causeway Boulevard on North Beach.
The full 1880s-era building wasn’t moved in its entirety, meaning that Our Lady Star of the Sea only partly resembles the original cathedral, according to an email from diocese records administrator Patricia Roeser.
Today, Corpus Christi Cathedral pays homage to the former St. Patrick's Cathedral with elements of green marble in the sanctuary.
Church of the Good Shepherd
An Episcopal congregation was formed on the second floor of the Nueces County Courthouse with Rev. S. D. Davenport as the first minister in 1860.
The women of the congregation formed the Dorcas Sewing Society in 1869, raising money to buy land for the church and parsonage.
“So great has their good work been that it would be most uncharitable to refer to the always mentioned ‘sewing society gossip,’” the Caller reported in 1891. “The Caller is sure that the Corpus Christi Dorcas is not of the common kind.”
The first permanent building for the church was constructed in the late 1870s at the corner of Taylor and Chaparral streets.
During the 1919 hurricane, the church's steeple and bells were blown off the building, according to the church website.
“This oblong frame building stands as a living memory to days gone by when those who have now passed beyond gathered on the day of Thanksgiving and rendered praise unto their Lord,” the Caller reported in November 1919. “And having withstood complete demolishment in one of the most terrific disasters that ever swept this portion of the Gulf Coast, it will continue to serve as a reminder that the years are fleeting by, generations are coming and going, yet they all maintain a degree of stability and continue worship in the way in which it pleased their forefathers to ‘give thanks unto the Lord.’”
In 1926, the church moved to a new location, moving the old building to the corner of Broadway Street and Park Avenue.
In 1935, the Church of the Good Shepherd began holding joint Thanksgiving services with Temple Beth El.
“In this day of narrowism and race hatred, much good can be accomplished toward erasing these conditions in a service such as the two churches have planned,” Rev. William Munds told the Caller in a Nov. 22, 1935, article.
The building used by Good Shepherd changed again in 1950.
The old building was repurposed by All Saints’ Episcopal Church, with a new building consecrated for the Church of the Good Shepherd in 1950. The old building was moved to South Staples Street near Ray High School.
First Presbyterian Church of Corpus Christi
Rev. William Mitchell organized First Presbyterian Church of Corpus Christi in 1867 with seven charter members.
But the young church was dealt a blow in its infancy when a yellow fever epidemic swept the city, killing the church’s minister and another charter member. According to the church’s website, they used wooden construction materials intended for a new church building for coffins.
The church’s first building was built in 1868, on Broadway Street between Mestina and Leopard streets. The property was donated by Capt. Richard King, founder of the King Ranch.
His widow, Henrietta King, provided financial assistance for a new brick sanctuary on Broadway around 1901.
In 1919, during the devastating hurricane, the red brick church served as a shelter, with 700 people fed daily.
Rachel Doddridge bequeathed her home to the church in 1903. Three decades later, a new sanctuary was built on the property, the church’s current location. The building was erected in memory of Doddridge’s husband, Perry Doddridge.
Kelsey Memorial United Methodist Church/Iglesia Metodista
Kelsey Memorial United Methodist Church was established in 1872 with Rev. Alejo Hernandez as the first pastor, though it wasn't yet called Kelsey Memorial.
Previously known as the Iglesia Metodista or the Mexican Methodist Church of Corpus Christi, the church took on the "Kelsey Memorial" name after Anna Kelsey of McAllen donated money for a new church building in the 1940s in honor of her parents, early pioneers of Corpus Christi.
First Baptist Church of Corpus
A handful Corpus Christi's Baptists organized in 1878, gathering at the Foster home on Antelope Street.
Rev. J.W.D. Creath organized the church with seven or eight charter members.
Since its founding, “its fortunes have largely followed those of the city, through periods of boom and bust, and the tiny congregation which Dr. J.M. Carroll, the first pastor, found here now numbers over 2,300,” the Caller-Times reported in 1950.
The church used a renovated blacksmith’s shop at the corner of Mesquite and Starr streets until 1908.
For a while, the church operated the town’s only young people group, with youths from all denominations attending meetings.
In 1910, a new brick sanctuary was built at the corner of Mesquite and Taylor. The structure erected by the church had a bell and steeple.
A wooden church building formally used by First Baptist became Staples Street Missionary Baptist Church and then Park Avenue Baptist Church.
Like many structures in Corpus Christi, First Baptist was damaged by the 1919 hurricane.
First Baptist Church eventually moved to Ocean Drive. Its bell tower was installed in 1976 and replaced in 2021.
First Christian Church
According to the First Christian Church website, the church began with several members in 1906.
In 1929, the congregation built a Spanish-style church. A new church building was dedicated in 1951, including a remodel of the previous structure and the addition of new wings and a chapel.
The church is known for its annual Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival, first performed by the congregation in 1983.
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Shortly after the Diocese of Corpus Christi was established in 1913, Bishop Paul Nussbaum charged Rev. Mark Moeslin in 1914 with evangelizing to Black residents during an era of segregation. Black residents weren't welcomed at St. Patrick's Cathedral for Sunday Masses.
In 1917, Mother M. Katharine Drexel, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, used her inheritance to buy land for Holy Cross Catholic Church. Drexel was declared a saint in 2000.
A two-story building was constructed to serve as a church and school. Two more structures served as a rectory and a dwelling for the nuns who ran the school. Rev. Fidelis Kent Stone led Holy Cross in the beginning.
Today, Holy Cross is home to the Diocese of Corpus Christi's gospel choir.
Old St. Anthony’s Catholic Church
Travelers on State Highway 44 between Corpus Christi and Robstown might notice a distinctive church in the Violet area.
This church dates to 1909, when German Catholic farm families came together in the area. Louis Petrus donated five acres for the church site, with five more acres purchased.
Three towers were added in 1919 during an extensive remodel, with a bell purchased from Spohn Sanitarium in Corpus Christi installed in one of the towers, according to the historical marker.
In 1952, the parish built a new, larger church and the old structure was relocated. But in the 1970s, the old St. Anthony’s building was returned to a spot 200 feet from its original location and restored.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi's early churches weathered storms, epidemics and change
