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World's Smallest Catholic Church LbNA #68050

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jan 24, 2015
Location:
City:Warrenton
County:Fayette
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Planted by:Chrivid
Found by: Sweet 'n' Spicy
Last found:Sep 21, 2019
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Jan 24, 2015
From the files of the Fayette Heritage Archives and Museum:

The St. Martin Church and Cemetery were established in 1888 and 1889 as a mission of St. John the Baptist Church in Fayetteville. In 1886, a relatively large number of Catholic families were living in and near Warrenton, nine miles west of Fayetteville. The Fayetteville priest organized a congregation and visited on a regular basis saying Mass in private homes until 1888. On March 15, 1888 Frederick & Helen Spies sold one acre of land to the Catholic Bishop for the church and cemetery site. Within the year a large building was erected and the congregation named for Saint Martin.

It flourished for 27 years but by 1915 most of the Catholics had died or moved away. They needed a new school building in Fayetteville and the Catholic Bishop gave them permission to demolish St. Martin's Church and use the lumber to build the school at Fayetteville. There was enough lumber left over to build the small chapel at the original site of St. Martin's Church. The building is 14 foot 3 inches x 18 foot 1 inch and is known as the "Smallest Active Catholic Church in the World." It contains some of the original fixtures including the altar and tabernacle and statues from the original church. It has 12 benches that can hold about 20 people. Mass is held here once a year on All Souls Day. The church and cemetery are open to visitors who leave donations for its care and upkeep.

To the Letterbox:

The church is located on Highway 237 between Round Top and Warrenton. There is parking in front of the church. Once in the gate find the headstone for veteran Master Sergeant - Louis Edwin Holec who fought in both World Wars I and II. Standing at the foot of his grave, facing his headstone, look over your right shoulder to the front corner of the cemetery. Walk to this corner. Standing in this corner, facing the church, the box is in the tree 90 degrees to your right (NNW). It is at a tree with chain link grown into the trunk.