History
Sunday Worship ♱ 8:00 a.m. ♱ 10:30 a.m.
2310 Airline Drive ♱ Brenham, TX 77833 ♱ (979) 836-7248
A History of St. Peter's Church
Two Priests of the Episcopal Church arrived on horseback in Brenham on Sept. 1845. These men were The Reverend Benjamin Eaton, later Rector of Trinity Church, Galveston; and The Reverend Charles Gillette, later Rector of Christ Church, Houston. They were entertained at the home of Asa Miles Lewis. The two Priests consulted with the citizens of Brenham as to the advisability of organizing a parish.
The first Bishop to visit Brenham was The Right Reverend George Washington Freeman, of Arkansas. He arrived in the County on May 1, 1848, together with The Reverend John S. Young. On May 2, 1848, Saint Peter's, Brenham was established as the fourth Episcopal Church in Texas. The congregation asked the Bishop to send them a Priest who could be both a pastor and a teacher. The Reverend Henry Niles Pierce was ordained to the Priesthood at Christ Church Matagorda, by Bishop Freeman on January 3, 1849 and was sent to Brenham to be it's first Rector.
The stone church which The Reverend Pierce began was never completed but the second church building, which was built of solid cedar was completed in 1853. During the rectorate of The Reverend Lindsey Powell Rucker (1867-1884) a brick church was completed in 1881 on the same site. This church building was severely damaged in the 1900 hurricane and under The Reverend James Noble (1899-1902) a new building was erected on the same site. In 1919 the building was rebuilt under the direction of The Reverend S. Moylan Bird (1905-1921) and (1929-1955).
The Current Church
In 1964 the present building was started under the direction of The Reverend Joseph Frazer. Following the plans of the original church building, Gothic in concept, each memorial is in its familiar location, the altar, rose window, altar rail, wainscoting, organ, pulpit, lectern, and other windows and lamps, including the church bell which is now 116 years old and has a history of its own.
