St. Mary's Catholic Church, Plantersville, Texas' Painted Church. (original) (raw)

The first church building was constructed in 1873. Polish and German-Russian immigrants created the need for Rev. Joseph Klein to be appointed as resident pastor in 1894. Cordelia Baker donated 10 acres of land to the Galveston diocese to be used for a German Catholic Church in Plantersville. In 1894 a small building was constructed under the name Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Rev. George Wilhelm became pastor in 1907 and St. Mary's split into separate Polish and German congregations. The Poles founded St. Joseph's Church in nearby Stoneham.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was struck by lightning and burned in 1917 while Rev. George Apel was pastor. The church was replaced within the year by the building shown here. The church building became a registered Texas Historic Landmark in 2001.

Source: The Texas Historic Commission's Atlas of Historic Texas Places

Interior views of the painted church
Photos courtesy Michael Duran, 2006

More interior views of the painted church
Photos courtesy Michael Duran, 2006

St. Mary's Catholic Church
Photo courtesy Michael Duran, 2006

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