[Source: Stephanie Innes, Daily Star] -- A lesser-known piece of Tombstone lore has nothing to do with gunslingers or prostitutes. Not far from the Boot Hill graveyard, the Crystal Palace Saloon and the O.K. Corral is St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, founded eight months after the famed Earp-McClaury shootout and 32 years before Arizona became a state. St. Paul’s will celebrate its 125th anniversary Saturday with an eye on the future, though it currently has only about 40 members, none younger than 57. Its supporters are passionate about ensuring the charming little church with its gothic arches and big red front door endures through another century and a quarter. A federal historic landmark, St. Paul’s is the oldest Protestant church in the state that is still standing on its original site and used for its original purpose. Made of adobe bricks and wood from the Chiricahua Mountains, the building has changed little since 24-year-old East Coast aristocrat and seminarian Endicott Peabody led the first service there on June 18, 1882. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tombstone 'church too tough to die' celebrates 125 years
[Source: Stephanie Innes, Daily Star] -- A lesser-known piece of Tombstone lore has nothing to do with gunslingers or prostitutes. Not far from the Boot Hill graveyard, the Crystal Palace Saloon and the O.K. Corral is St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, founded eight months after the famed Earp-McClaury shootout and 32 years before Arizona became a state. St. Paul’s will celebrate its 125th anniversary Saturday with an eye on the future, though it currently has only about 40 members, none younger than 57. Its supporters are passionate about ensuring the charming little church with its gothic arches and big red front door endures through another century and a quarter. A federal historic landmark, St. Paul’s is the oldest Protestant church in the state that is still standing on its original site and used for its original purpose. Made of adobe bricks and wood from the Chiricahua Mountains, the building has changed little since 24-year-old East Coast aristocrat and seminarian Endicott Peabody led the first service there on June 18, 1882. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
