Historical Society of the Episcopal Church - First Episcopal churches by state

Historical Society
of the Episcopal Church

The First Episcopal Church in Each State of the Union

by George Woodward Lamb
Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. 8, No. 4 (DECEMBER, 1939), pp. 402-404

Some time ago the Reverend Fran J. Clark, Secretary of General Convention, received a request from the American Lutheran Statistical Association of Decorah, Iowa, for a record of the first Episcopal Church in each of the United States. He referred the request to the Church Historical Society. Such a list appears never to have been compiled, or if compiled, never published. Since the subject is of interest and of some important to others, it should be so to members of the Episcopal Church. The cordial and helpful cooperation of those who supplied data, many of them members of the Society, is hereby gratefully acknowledged.

A remarkable thing is that all except one of these first churches are still active. The Church at Jamestown, Virginia, dating from 1607, and the first church of any communion in the United States of America, was dissolved in 1812, but the tower still standing is a shrine to countless Americans. In recent years a nave has been added to the tower and the church is used for an occasional service.

It will be noted that two churches are listed under Massachusetts King's Chapel, Boston, the first Anglican church in Massachusetts, became a Unitarian organization following the Revolutionary War. On April 21, 1783, Jam Freeman, a lay reader, was chosen pastor of King's Chapel by the proprietors. In 1785, under Freeman’s leadership, King's Chapel espoused Unitarianism. Freeman refused ordination by the bishops of the Episcopal Church because of his Unitarian views, was "ordained" on November 18, 1787 by the senior warden of the congregation. He served as pastor until his retirement in 1826.**

Many of these "first" churches have kept pace with the growth of the Church and are the largest and most influential parishes in their respective dioceses. The most conspicuous is, of course, Trinity Church, New York City. Eight are now cathedrals-in Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Utah-all in the Mississippi Valley or the Rocky Mountains.

*Librarian of the Church Historical Society, 4205 Spruce Street, Philadelphia-Ed. Note.
**See, F. W. P. Greenwood, "History of King's Chapel," Boston. 1833. Pp. 135-145.

THE FIRST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN EACH STATE

State	Place	Church and Date	Status
Alabama	Mobile	Christ Church, 1822	Active
Arizona	Tombstone	St. Paul's, 1882	Active
Arkansas	Little Rock	Christ Church, 1823	Active
California	San Francisco	Holy Trinity, 1849	Now Trinity Church
Colorado	Denver	St. John's-in-the-Wilderness, 1862	Cathedral
Connecticut	Stratford	Christ Church, 1707	Active
Delaware	New Castle	Immanuel Church, 1703	Active
District of Columbia	Rock Creek Parish	St. Paul's, 1726	Active
Florida	St. Augustine	St. Peter's, 1764	Now Trinity Church
Georgia	Savannah	Christ Church, 1733	Active
Idaho	Boise	St. Michael's, 1866	Cathedral
Illinois	Albion (now Diocese of Springfield)	St. John's, 1825	Active
Indiana	New Albany (now Diocese of Indianapolis)	St. Paul's, 1834	Active
Iowa	Muscatine	Trinity Church, 1839	Active
Kansas	Leavenworth	St. Paul's, 1856	Active
Kentucky	Lexington (now Diocese of Lexington)	Christ Church, 1792	Active
Louisiana	New Orleans	Christ Church, 1805	Cathedral
Maine	Saco	Trinity Church, 1636	Active
Marylad	St.Mary's, St.Mary's County (now Diocese of Wasington)	Trinity Church, 1642	Active
Masachusetts	Boston	King's Chapel, 1686.	Became Unitarian in 1785
	Braintree (now Quincy)	Christ Church, 1689	Active
Michigan	Detroit	St. Paul's, 1824	Cathedral
Minnesota	Stillwater	Church of the Ascension, 1828	Active
Mississippi	Church Hill	Christ Church, 1820	Active
Missouri	St. Louis	Christ Church, 1819	Cathedral
Montana	Virginia City	St. Paul's, 1867	Active
Nebraska	Omaha	Trinity Church, 1856	Cathedral
Nevada	Virginia City	St. Paul's, 1861	Active
New Hampshire	Portsmouth	St. John's, 1732	Active
New Jersey	Perth Amboy	St. Peter's, 1685	Active
New Mexico	Las Vegas	St. Paul's, 1879	Active
New York	New York City	Trinity Church, 1674	Trinity Parish (Mother Church with seven chapels
North Carolina	Edenton (now Diocese of East Carolina)	St. Paul's, 1736	Active
North Dakota	Fargo	Christ Church, 1877	Gethsemane Cathedral
Ohio	Worthington	St. John's, 1804	Active
Oklahoma	Guthrie	Trinity Church, 1889	Active
Oregon	Portland	Trinity Church, 1851	Active
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Christ Church, 1695	Active
Rhode Island	Wickford	St. Paul's, 1707	Active
South Carolina	Charleston	St. Philip's, 1670	Active
South Dakota	Yankton	Christ Church, 1862	Active
Tennessee	Franklin	St. Paul's, 1827	Active
Texas	Matagorda	Christ Church, 1839	Active
Utah	Sal Lake City	St. Mark's, 1867	Cathedral
Vermont	Arlington	St. James', 1772	Active
Virginia	Jamestown (now Diocese of Southern Virginia)	Jamestown Church, 1607	Dissolved, 1812
Washington	Vancouver (now the Diocese of Olympia)	St. Luke's, 1873	Active
West Virginia	Bunker Hill	Christ Church (Morgan's Chapel), 1740	Active
Wisconsin	Green Bay (now Diocese of Fond du Lac)	Christ Church, 1826	Active
Wyoming	Cheyenne	St. Mark's, 1868	Active

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