La Grange was established as a town by the Republic of Texas
in 1838. Just three years later, the first missionary of the Episcopal
Diocese of Texas, the Rt. Rev. George Freeman, visited the little town on
the Colorado on his way to Austin. In December of 1848, the Rev. Charles Gillett conducted the first Episcopal service in the county courthouse, and the parish was organized by local Episcopalians in 1855. Over the next years, services were held in private homes. Visits from missionary clergy were infrequent but received with great enthusiasm. In 1867, a yellow fever epidemic struck the area with devastating results, taking the lives of half St. James' members, including one of the wardens, Judge Benjamin Shropshire. His widow, Georgiana, donated in his memory some property which later became the site for the present church. The building was constructed during the rectorship of the Rev. William George Washington Smith, who raised money from friends and acquaintances and obtained the services of a leading architectural firm in New York. Richard Upjohn had designed another Episcopal Church in Texas, St. Marks' San Antonio, as well as the outstanding example of Gothic Revival, Trinity Church, Wall Street. His son, Richard Micell Upjohn, worked out a plan for St. James' in the Queen Anne style. The architectural historian John Ferguson has declared, "The vitality of Upjohn's design made it standout in Texas and, indeed, in the entire south." Subsequent additions of a parish hall, offices, and Sunday School rooms have maintained the integrity of the original design. The interior is typical of Episcopal designs of the period, with warm wood hues enriched with brilliant color from the leaded glass windows. The interior is composed to accentuate the altar, with secondary emphasis falling on the pulpit and lectern. In addition to commissioning the plans and raising most of the money for
the church, the rector at the time, The Rev. Mr. Smith, also designed and built the
altar, lectern, communion rail, and Bishop's chair, all of which are still in use.
The windows and the cross on the tower The memorial window in the south transept, "Faith," was made in Europe and given in 1885 in memory of Judge and Mrs. Benjamin Shropshire by their children. The brass cross was given in 1887 as a legacy from Mrs. Charlotte Critchley. The tower bell, weighing 711 pounds, was struck by the Menially Bell Company of West Troy, New York, and hung in the tower in January, 1892. The font was placed in the church in September, 1892, and electricity replaced the original kerosene lamps in 1893. Acknowledgments:
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He reported it to be a potential
mission site.
The Queen Anne style was based on a revival in England and
made popular by
Richard Norman Shaw. The style reached the U.S. in the 1870's and was transformed
from half-timber and brick to an entirely wood fabric. In this wooden-framed
building shingles cover most of the walls and steeply pitched roofs. This church is
also noteworthy for the manner in which the design responded to the climate. Louvered and screened
openings, closed by removable panels on the interior, flank the pews, allowing for air
circulation in hot weather.
were also his selection. The pews are original, designed
by Mr. Smith and built locally in the shop of Mr. Frank Reichert.
