CENTRAL CITY - Most of us in the Peak to Peak area are familiar with the fact that Central City’s churches have historic significance: St. James is Colorado’s oldest Protestant congregation; St. Mary’s Catholic Church held its first mass in a home in 1860.

Now we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Bishop Kym – Kimberly “Kym” Lucas – will preside over a celebratory service on Sunday, December 1, 2024, followed by a performance by the St. Martin church choir from Denver, brunch, and a tour of Central City’s historic churches.

The history of the Episcopal Church in our region began in 1860, when Father Kehler came from Denver to lead a service in “a little log cabin” in Mountain City (preceding, but located between, what became Black Hawk and Central City).

Mrs. Anna Talbot kept a running account of the development of the church from 1860 until 1897. By 1862, Bishop Talbot came to Denver and then into the mountains. Meeting at Mrs. Talbot’s home, he found a population ready for a church, and organized local businessmen to pledge funds to “carry out the work of the church,” chose a vestry, and baptized a few children (likely the first individuals in the mountains baptized into the church). The bishop offered Mrs. Talbot the opportunity to name the new church, and it was she who chose “St. Paul’s.”

By 1863, the baby congregation was ready for a building and a clergyman. A former store was refitted as a chapel, and Rev. Francis Granger was called to the pulpit there. The lower part of the building was set aside as a schoolroom. Mrs. Granger took charge of the nascent school, preparing a small class for Confirmation.

The Daily Register reported in 1863 that “St. John’s in the Wilderness and St. Paul’s were the only self-supporting parishes” at that time in Colorado.

By 1869, St. Paul’s had a school, which proved extremely popular and was only discontinued after local public schools were “thoroughly organized.”

In January, 1873, about a year before the devastating fire that destroyed most of Central City, the well-established church burned to the ground, with a total loss of about $20,000. By June, 1873, ground had been broken for a new church building on East High Street, “west of the new stone school house.” The construction was budgeted at $12,000.

The cornerstone was laid by George M. Randall, the Missionary Bishop of Colorado Territory, on July 21, 1873. Placed in “a small cavity” in the cornerstone were “copies of the Daily Register, the Black Hawk Journal, Denver News and Tribune, Georgetown Miner, Hartford Churchman, the Holy Bible and prayer book,” assorted coins and bills, “one pound of Colorado wheat, grown on H.M. Teller’s ranch in 1872 and a photographic view of Central City taken by Reed and McKinney.”

The new church was “built of native granite in the Gothic style. It is 60 feet in length and 34 feet in height. It has a seating capacity of about 300. The windows are of stained glass.” The church was completed and opened for services on Sunday, December 4, 1873. Clergy from many different parts of Colorado Territory participated in the service.

The church was consecrated on February 6, 1876, as noted in the Weekly Register of February 9: “The consecration of the new St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in this city, occurred on Sunday morning, the Rev. Mr. Turner…officiating. The attendance was quite large. In the evening, Bishop Whipple of the Diocese of Minnesota…preached to a still larger audience, all available space being occupied.

“The sermon was one eminently worthy of the great fame of its author and merited unbounded admiration from the host of hearers. Our little church on the hill is now paid for and consecrated, two facts which afford its communicants the deepest satisfaction.”

In the summer of 1926, the church “came into possession of the bell formerly used at Christ Church in Nevadaville. Until this bell was installed the school bell had always been rung to call the people to the church service.” The Christ Church bell had been “hauled across the plains by ox team” before the railroads had reached the mountains.

St. Paul’s not only has history, it has continuity. Joanna Foster was baptised in the church in 1937. Her great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth Curtis Thomas, became a member of the church in 1874 after leaving Cornwall in Southwest England and settling in Nevadaville.

Slightly more recently, St. Paul's has been offering an Opera Sunday Fundraiser every year for the last thirty years. Guests attend a service at the church, followed by a luncheon and then the matinee at the Central City Opera. Dirk Freeman has been attending Opera Sundays almost since its inception.         

The December 1 celebration will be led by Bishop Kimberly “Kym” Lucas, of the Colorado Episcopal diocese. She is the appointed leader for 95 worshiping communities in the Colorado diocese. The 10 a.m. event will include a blessing time for couples who want their unions blessed. RSVPs are suggested for those planning to attend the service and brunch by texting 312-415-5500.