Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

In the fall of 1899, a small group of Episcopalians living in Dickinson petitioned the Rt. Rev. George H. Kinsolving, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, to send a priest to minister to them. Bishop Kinsolving sent the Rev. A.J. Burnett, priest at Grace Mission in Alvin, to visit Dickinson. Burnett and six families organized Holy Trinity Episcopal Mission, and members attended worship services in private homes until converting a small building at the Dickinson picnic grounds for church use.

Bishop Kinsolving visited in May 1900 and confirmed nine new members into the church. Later that year, the church suffered extensive damage in the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston and the Texas gulf coast. A year later, with funding assistance from the diocese, the members of Holy Trinity were able to erect their first church building, later fondly referred to as “the little church by the side of the road.” The Ladies’ Guild raised funds to furnish the church, which was dedicated on November 10, 1901.

For the next half-century, a number of resident priests and deacons, as well as supply clergy from churches in Alvin, Galveston, Texas City, Houston and Harrisburg served the mission. A church social first held in 1930 evolved in the Strawberry Festival, an annual community-wide event. The congregation added other buildings over the years, including a rectory dedicated in memory of victims of the 1947 Texas City disaster.

Holy Trinity Church attained parish status in 1954. By the early 1960s the church undertook a new building campaign, and “the little church by the side of the road” was replaced with a larger facility for the congregation’s growing membership. The church continues to serve the community with a variety of programs.

(2006)