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Welcome to St. Mary’s Mission Chapel. St. Mary’s Mission, located at 505 E. Logan, in Calvert’s Historic District, is the now home to the Calvert History Center, sponsored by the Calvert Historical Foundation. The center will be the location of musical concerts, special speakers, and other historical and holiday events. Free tours can be arranged by calling CHF president, Fran Lamb, at 979.364.3884. Regular summer center hours will be posted soon. This church was built in 1900 on land donated by H.M. Ashe. Dr. Ashe was a well-respected physician in Calvert for many years.
The congregation was formed in 1876, just 3 years after what was to the first in a number of yellow fever epidemic that hit the community. Calvert was a thriving community then with 52 businesses in the downtown commercial area. The Houston and Texas Central Railway, which was built through the county in the late 1860s, was responsible for the incredible growth as farmers were now able to bring their crops to market quickly and more efficiently with the use of the railway transportation. Although a number of towns declined or were abandoned after being bypassed by the railroad, including Wheelock, Owensville, Nashville, Sterling, Staggers Point, Mount Vernon, Little Mississippi, and Port Sullivan, many other communities like Calvert flourished. Catholic churches arrived with the railroad in the 1870s to serve the Irish workmen who built and operated the railroads and, later, to minister to the Polish immigrants who settled at Bremond. St. Mary’s in Bremond was established in 1888. St. Mary's Catholic Church was located in Hearne during the 1870. This church was a “mission” church of St. Mary’s in The building has a simple rectangle worship space, enclosed by board and batten siding walls. Please note the unusual fish scale pattern in the gable outside. Wooden fish scale shingles had their origin in the Charleston area. On Victorian and Queen Anne buildings, fish scale shingles were used as a finishing element. These are generally wood and are most frequently found on the gable or upper section of the buildings. The stained glass above the transom of the front door is original to the church from 1900, although we are still researching the name of the artist. The alter and pulpit are not original. They were replaced in the late 1980s. The primary parishners of the congregation were Hispanic, with mass being conducted in Spanish. The church has not been used as a worship center since early 2000. |
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Calvert History Center
The original St. Mary’s Mission building was located at the
corner of Elm and Hanna, across from the Hammond House. That
structure burned in 1899, the same year as a devastating flood
ravaged the area. Calvert’s population was said to be approximately
3,000 at the 1900 census.