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History in
a Pecan Shell
Originally called Grelton, Stanton was just a spot next to
the Texas and Pacific Railroad tracks when it came through
in 1881.
German Catholics
from Kansas and Arkansas were the first settlers. They imported
the lumber which was nailed together to form the first buildings.
The town was
renamed Marienfeld
in 1885.
The First Catholic Church in West Texas was built in 1881 and the
next year the first school in West Texas was opened.
A monastery and a convent were built and while the nuns opened
schools and hospitals in Pecos
and Fort
Stockton, the priests would take the train to Big
Spring and Midland
to say Mass.
After severe droughts, the agricultural dreams of the Germans were
dashed and they were forced to move to greener pastures (in this
case Louisiana pastures).
As the population
that named the town Marienfeld
dwindled, the town was renamed again (1890) by the schoolchildren
of the town who chose (presumably with some help from faculty)
Stanton after Lincoln's Secretary of War and Supreme Court Justice
Edwin McMasters Stanton.
A 1938 tornado hit the town and closed the Catholic academy,
which had already been suffering low enrollment. A 1950 flood
did considerable, but not catastrophic damage. Shortly thereafter
oil was discovered and the economy recovered.
In 1977, the Texas
and Pacific Railroad discontinued service 96 years after arriving
in Grelton. |
 |
Carmelite Monastery,
later Sisters of Mercy Convent
400 E Carpenter St, Stanton TX
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
The Convent
in 2000, front & back view
Photo courtesy
Jason Penney |
Carmelite Monastery
(later Sisters of Mercy Convent) & Historicl Markers
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
Carmelite Monastery
Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
Historical
Marker:
Carmelite
Monastery
In 1882, six German
friars from St. Boniface monastery in Scipio, Kansas, founded a new
Carmelite monastery at Grelton Station, halfway between Fort
Worth and El
Paso on the Texas & Pacific Railroad. They renamed the station
Marienfeld and
established a German Catholic colony.
Under the leadership of Anastasius Peters, the Carmelites attracted
immigrant farmers to the area, some of whom joined the religious order.
In 1884, this building was constructed to serve as the living quarters
for the friars; it was expanded in 1886. From here they journeyed
all over west Texas and eastern New Mexico, ministering to the Catholic
families in communities along the rail lines and starting new Catholic
parishes. Their work in Marienfeld
had a direct impact on the town's development and on the formal organization
of Martin County
in 1884.
In 1888, the Marienfeld Carmelites numbered 34, but severe drought
during that period resulted in an economic depression that led to
faltering support for the friars and the colony. By 1891, only five
friars remained, and they left in 1901. In 1897, the Carmelites sold
the monastery building to the Sisters of Mercy, who developed an academy
on the site in 1898 and used this building for their living quarters
and chapel. Soon after a 1938 tornado swept through the complex, the
Sisters of Mercy withdrew, and the property was sold.
Built of adobe in the Gothic Revival style, the monastery features
four-foot thick walls, a stone foundation, Gothic pointed-arch windows
and a wrapround porch. It is the only building remaining from the
Carmelite occupation of the site.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000
|
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Historical
Marker:
Site
of St. Joseph's Church
With the purpose
of founding a monastery and a German Catholic colony, Carmelite Monks,
in 1881, began the first Catholic church between Fort
Worth and El
Paso. The adobe and brick monastery was completed in 1884, and
St. Joseph's Church in 1885. Sisters of Divine Providence opened a
short-lived school, 1887; reopened, 1894, by Sisters of Mercy. In
1897, Carmelite Monks disbanded and sold property to Sisters of Mercy,
who operated a convent and academy until abandonment after tornado
of June 11, 1938. All that remains are a dormitory, ruins of other
buildings, and the cemetery.
(1973) |
Connell House
410 Convent St
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
Connell House
Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
Historical
Marker:
Connell
House
Constructed in
1882 as a two-room home for Carmelite Priests, this was the first
building in Stanton. Dennis and Mary (Stoeger) Connell made their
home here after their marriage in 1902. Mary bore eight children in
the house, which grew with the family. By 1915 the house had five
rooms, with more additions made in the 1920s and 1930s. The simple
home features a distinctive west gable, weatherboard siding, a front
porch with shed room and turned-wood posts, and double primary entry
doors. Upon the death of the last Connell daughter in 1990 the house
was transferred to the local historical museum.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997
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L - The convent
& historical marker
R - The Catholic Cemetery
Photo courtesy
Jason Penney, 2000 |
Stanton, Texas
Chronicles
The
1939 Martin County Explosion by Mike Cox
Joe
Pruno by Mike Cox
The story of Joe A. Pruno reads like a Victorian-era dime novel,
complete with ample exaggeration, outright fabrication and historical
inaccuracies... . [He] was buried in the town’s Catholic cemetery.
If he ever had a tombstone, it has not been located. Neither has
his treasure.
Marienfeld
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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