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St. Andrew's Sunday School Picnic at the San Jacinto Battlegrounds, Circa 1912

     St. Andrew's Episcopal Church has a long history in the Houston Heights. 

    Although St. Andrew's was not the first Episcopal Church in the Heights, it was the first to have a church building.  Between the years of 1894 and 1904, divine worship was conducted in the Heights by the Rev. Benjamin Andrew Rogers of Williamson County.  These services were held in the Cooley School building and the congregation was known as St. Paul's Mission. 

    The Priest-In-Charge of St. Paul's, the Rev. Rogers, goes down in Episcopal history for several reasons.  He was the only clerical member of the Board of Trustees, who in 1889 adopted the Charter incorporating the Council under the title "Protestant Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Texas".  He presided over the Episcopal Council held in May, 1892 in Waco as a replacement for Bishop Gregg who was ill at the time.  It was at this Council that Bishop Kinsolving was elected to assist Bishop Gregg. 

    It was a happy Sunday afternoon in February 1911 when St. Andrew's was organized in the parlors of Mrs. Henry J. Brown's home at 212 West 19th Street.  The Rev. Rogers was honored in the choice of his middle name for the new congregation.  When the worshippers grew too numerous to gather in the Brown's home, Mr. Fred Dexter offered the use of his hall (which the Oddfellows were also using).  Note:  Records indicate that Mr. Dexter was one of the St. Andrew's Lay Readers who provided invaluable leadership during the period between 1911 and 1921. St. Andrew's was honored with a gift of property on Allston Street (Lot 15, Block 155) from Mrs. Rogers and her daughter, Mrs. Susan Tempest.   With this gift, the congregation began its progress toward real establishment.

    The first church building on Allston Street was erected soon after and it served the congregation well until 1920 when Mr. O.M. Carter, owner of the Houston Heights Land Company, gave to St. Andrew's the property at the corner of 19th and Yale Street (the location of Compass Bank today).

    Between October 1920 and March 1921, services were held in the Parish House which faced 19th Street.  The first services in the new building were conducted on Palm Sunday, March 20, 1921.  

    At the 1921 Council held in May at Christ Church Cathedral,  St. Andrew's Mission became a Parish.  The first official rector of St. Andrew's was The Reverend Edward Farren Hayward.  Many happy memories were made during this time and St. Andrew's parish continued to grow and flourish during the 1920's, '30's and '40's. 

    By the mid-1940's it was clear that St. Andrew's needed an even bigger space.  Land at the corner of 19th Street and Heights Boulevard was obtained and ground was broken in 1947 for the church building which exists today. 

    Haskin V. Little became rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in 1952 and, in 1958, another happy occasion took place.  A Sunday School wing was added to the back of the church building to serve the growing population of Sunday Schoolers.   

    As in most large metropolitan areas, a large part of the population base moved to the suburbs during the late '50s, 1960's and 1970's. But St. Andrew's was in the heart of Houston and its loyal parishioners drove from all points to stay in the St. A's family. 

    The Reverend John E. Binford became St. Andrew's rector in 1977.  For most of his twenty-two year tenure as rector (he retired on Easter Sunday 1999), St. Andrew's enjoyed the resurgence of popularity to the Heights as many folks began restoring old homes and moving their young families closer to downtown.  The church building on Heights Boulevard, however, remained essentially unchanged until 1993 when St. Andrew's launched a massive renovation program of its own - Achieving New Heights. 

    Achieving New Heights was a great success.   Many changes were made to the structure of the church - an elevator was installed, the parish hall and kitchen were enlarged and remodeled, new offices were built, Sunday School rooms were renovated and enlarged, and a new, indoor chapel was dedicated whose centerpiece is a dramatic, back-lit stained glass window taken from the former Good Shepherd Episcopal Church . 

Fr. Paul Fromberg became the rector of St. Andrew's in February 2000.  A native Houstonian, Fr. Paul joins St. Andrew's after ten faithful years of ministry at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston.  It truly is an exciting time for the parish.

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church continues today as a thriving parish nestled in Historic Houston Heights - poised for the new millenium while preserving its rich history. 

Do you have any written information, interesting stories or pictures, etc. related to St. Andrew's history in the Heights?  If so, please contact Barbara Hirsch by phone (281) 890-7264 or e-mail.  We would love to include it in this section and any input from you would be greatly appreciated!

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