History of St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel,
Established in 1902
The Magnolia Springs area was originally the land of the indigenous Creek Nation. It was first colonized as part of a Spanish land grant. After the Civil War, the community became a popular destination for many of the soldiers (who fought on both sides) and their descendants. In the years that followed, homes, inns and businesses sprang up along the banks of the Magnolia River. The water from the nearby natural springs was declared "the purest in the world". Today, the Magnolia River is still recognized as an “Outstanding Alabama Waterway”.
Construction Begins
Miss Gertrude Smith, a native of Illinois, moved to Magnolia Springs in the late nineteenth century. Finding no Episcopal church nearby, she began hosting Sunday School classes in her home. Mr. and Mrs. Otis Lyman donated land for a community hall and church near the turn of the 20th century. The community hall was constructed in 1894. Sunday School classes were held in the hall until a church could be built. Funds raised by Miss Smith, her sister, Ida Gates, and others in the community joined together to build the present chapel. It was completed in 1902. The chapel’s architecture was influenced by the Late Gothic Revival and was built of heart pine, much of it harvested, cut and crafted on-site. Handmade pews and simple furnishings completed the chapel.
After construcion was completed, a rustic cross of magnolia leaves was placed high above the altar.
The cross has remained untouched and is still in place today.
The chapel was solidly built, able to withstand one hurricane after another– including a particularly violent one in 1906. Another massive hurricane swept through the region in 1916 and caused the structure to shift. The chapel was fortified on a strengthened foundation and has survived intact through the years.
Almost Closed – Now Thriving
During the 1960s, the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama considered closing the little chapel. The Rev. F. Stanford Persons pleaded to allow the chapel to remain open—and so it did. By the late 1990s, construction began on our Parish Hall. The expanded space offers a fully-equipped professional kitchen, classrooms, restrooms, offices, sacristy, and vesting room. Blending seamlessly with the beautiful old chapel, the Parish Hall looks as though it had been there all along. It was dedicated on August 5, 2001.
Throughout its history, St. Paul’s has been served by more than twenty dedicated priests. Beginning as a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, St. Paul’s became a full parish of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast in 2008.
A Community Landmark
In 2010, a beautifully-landscaped Memorial Garden was added on the west side of the chapel.
The chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Alabama Registers of Historic Places.
The Gold Cross Behind the Altar
In mid-August of 1915, the cargo/passenger ship, "Marowijine", sailed from Belize bound for the port of New Orleans. The ship was lost in the 1915 Galveston Hurricane somewhere in the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico. No one aboard survived, including a young mother and her 3-year-old son.
The cross on the altar bears the inscription:
In Memory of Bessie Ewing Jones, 1881-1915 and
Robert William Jones, 1912-1915
Lost on ship, Marowijine, August 14, 1915
Presented by her parents to St. Mark's Church, All Saint's Day, 1916
Lost and Found
Mysteriously, the cross vanished from St. Mark’s Church until an unlikely coincidence happened. Many years after its disappearance, three Episcopalian parishioners had a hand in recovering the cross and bringing to its present home in our chapel. An antique shop owner discovered the cross in 1996 and stored it in her home for a decade. In March, 2006, the cross was put on display at another antique shop. A week later, a member of St. Paul's Chapel saw the cross in the shop and purchased it. The cross was then delivered to another parishioner, who meticulously restored the cross. Although the cross required extensive repair and care after so many forgotten years, the craftsman would not accept payment for his work.
The newly-restored cross was presented to St. Paul's Chapel on Easter Sunday, 2006. Nothing is known of its whereabouts during the 90 years it was lost. It now adorns the Altar and where it is cherished and cared for the parish.