The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-07-26
AN OLD LANDMARK.
The Old and the New st. Mary's
Church.

The contrast between the old state cap
itol and the new is not half so striking,
probably, as that between the little old
belfried stone structure on the corner of
Ninth and Brazos streets and the splendid
Gothic church edifice that now rears its
massive proportions at the corner of
Tenth and Brazos-St. Mary's of the I'm
maculate Conception.
The mute walls of the little stone
church tell their own story in their own
way. They carry one back far more than
three decades, to the time when Austin
was little frontier town, with no public
buildings worthy of special notice. Even
the present somewhat venerable looking,
but still stately, laud Office was not yet
built IL was not probably more than a
decade before the building of the old
church that the site of the present beauti-
ful city of Austin was occupied by the
few houses composing the stockaded vii
lage Of Waterloo, and the Indians some
times amused themselves by scalping our
forefathers on what is now Congress
avenue. Owing to its exposed position
the embryotic city advanced but slowly in
population. The early settlers came
mostly by way of New Orleans-the Mexi-
can government insisted that none but
Lousianians should be admitted into
Stephen f. Austin's first colony-and that
was long distance across the country.
The little old church was built about
1850, during the pastorate of the Rever.
end Michael Sheehau, the frontier troops
and few Irish Catholics being the prin-
cipal contributors towards its erection. II
was then called st. Patrick's. In NoYem.
Der, 1857, Reverend Father Sheehan was
succeeded by the Rev. S. Mackin, who was
here only for a short time, being replaced
by the Reverend Michael Prendergrast
Reverend Father Prendergrast was fol
lowed by the Reverend Nicholas Feltin
who took charge of the mission in the
spring of 1864. Father Feltin was the
first to organize the mission into a regu.
lar parish. He established sodalities, q
library, ETC., built the tower on the old
church and changed the name of the par
ish TO st. Mary's of the Immaculate Con
ception, in honor of the blessed Virgin
Mary, the name which it still retains.
As before remarked, the population in.
creased but slowly. In Father Feltin's
time it could scarcely have been 5000
We have no records at hand, and can give
but few desultory notes. If these result
in stirring up one or more of the old
timers to something fuller or more like a
history of Austin, We shall be glad of it
Any thing of the kind would no doubt
meet with cordial reception and pay the
writer for his or her trouble, and we are
proud to say that Austin has writers that
could do the subject full justice. In
Father Feltin's time (1S64) the popula
ton was about 5000. In 1870 it was
1929. In 1850 it had increased to l096O
The population of Austin has been more
than doubling itself every five years since
1875, being now computed at $4,000. Sc
much for the "reminiscences awakened by
the old church. The
NEw ST. MARY's CHURCH
is undoubtedly one of the finest church
edifces in the city, and when completed il
will probably be one of the finest in the
south, outside of New Orleans Even a;
it is, with the towers and front still IN
finished, 1t is a splendid specimen OF
architecture, especially when viewed from
the dome of the new capitol. The dimen
sions are about 150x60, aid it will com
fortably seat a thousand persons. To the
ridge of the roof the height is eighty five
feet. The two steeples are to be 175 anC
100 feet high, respectively. The interior
is lighted by twenty four large window;
of plain stained glass, twelve on each side