History

A Short History of St Paul Presbyterian Church

St. Paul Presbyterian Church’s roots go back to 1881 when interested persons met in the home of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Sanderson of Ben Ficklin (first county seat of Tom Green County) and organized the Concho Presbyterian Church and Society of San Angelo.
After the 1882 flood, which destroyed most of Ben Ficklin, San Angelo became the county seat and the Presbyterians bought a lot at the corner of Twohig and Irving streets and built the "Rock Church." With the closing of Fort Concho in 1889, the membership so decreased that the church dissolved in 1890.

On January 19, 1896 the present church was founded in the abandoned Fort Concho's hospital. In 1968 the present building was erected at 11 North Park Street. It is an avant-garde building, topped by a 30-foot black steel cross supported by a curved white masonry with two arms pointing upward toward the cross. The church's hundredth anniversary was held in 1996.
This church has a history of help to the community such as establishing needed educational functions, housing the first unit of Palmer Drug Abuse Program, and resettling of refugees from Laos and Poland. Less fortunate persons have been helped through participation in The Soup Kitchen, Project Dignidad and other local programs. The church extends help to more than 30 local, non-profit organizations by permitting free use of the the church's facilities for their meetings.