St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Collection

Michael Wells

Missouri Valley Special Collections is pleased to announce the expansion of our digital collection featuring St. Mary’s and St. George’s Episcopal churches. In 2014, St. Mary’s donated their records and photographs to the Kansas City Public Library. Archivist Kara Flinn poured countless hours into arranging the collection and scanning images to prepare it for researchers. Now, over 150 digitized images illustrating the history of the two churches can be viewed on KCHistory.org.

The full collection can be accessed here.
The St. Luke’s Mission church at 4th and Locust (left) and the third and final St. Mary’s Church building at 13th and Holmes (right).
The St. Luke’s Mission church at 4th and Locust (left) and the third and final St. Mary’s Church building at 13th and Holmes (right).

St. Mary’s would move once more. In 1888, the present church at 13th and Holmes streets was completed. And there it has remained while the city has changed around it.

Once surrounded by schools, shops, and residences, St. Mary’s is one of the few historic structures remaining in that part of downtown. From its perch above the southeastern corner of the downtown expressway loop, the church avoided the urban renewal era’s wrecking balls and continues to welcome parishioners through its doors to this day.

The area surrounding St. Mary’s before (left) and after urban renewal (right).
The area surrounding St. Mary’s before (left) and after urban renewal (right).

To the south, St. George’s Episcopal Church opened in 1891 at Linwood Boulevard and Troost Avenue and served some of Kansas City’s first suburban residents. By the mid-1920s, St. George’s had moved east a few blocks to Linwood and The Paseo. They remained at that site until 1954 when a fire destroyed the building.

St. George’s at Linwood and The Paseo after a 1954 fire (left) and the church built at 58th and Highland in 1956 (right).
St. George’s at Linwood and The Paseo after a 1954 fire (left) and the church built at 58th and Highland in 1956 (right).

In 1956, their final building at 58th Street and Highland Avenue was completed. Membership declined over the years and the church found itself struggling to survive by the mid-1980s. Unfortunately, the battle was lost. St. George’s closed its doors, and its congregation was absorbed into St. Mary’s in 1989.

In addition to images of these two churches, the collection includes a wide variety of subjects important to the history of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri in Kansas City. Portraits of bishops and other clergy, gatherings, and early photographs of other Kansas City Episcopal churches can be found.

Bishop Robert Nelson Spencer (left), Sister Isabel Ferero (center), and Father Edwin W. Merrill (right).
Bishop Robert Nelson Spencer (left), Sister Isabel Ferero (center), and Father Edwin W. Merrill (right).
A Girl Scouts meeting at St. Mary’s (left) and a confirmation class at St. George’s (right).
A Girl Scouts meeting at St. Mary’s (left) and a confirmation class at St. George’s (right).
St. Augustine’s at 1025 Troost in 1892, then Kansas City’s African American Episcopal Church (left) and Grace Episcopal Church in the same year at 10th and Central, the forerunner of today’s Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral (right).
St. Augustine’s at 1025 Troost in 1892, then Kansas City’s African American Episcopal Church (left) and Grace Episcopal Church in the same year at 10th and Central, the forerunner of today’s Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral (right).
The full collection can be accessed here.