When the Union Pacific Railroad reached its winter terminal of Cheyenne in the fall of 1867, the Episcopalians were among the first to hold religious services in the rough new settlement.
On January 14, 1868, a determined Episcopal clergyman, the Rev. Joseph W. Cook, arrived in Cheyenne. Appalled by the "rampant sin and wickedness," he immediately set about organizing a parish. Later that month, St. Mark's Church was organized and named after St. Mark's Church in Philadelphia because the older parish donated $1000 toward establishing a church in the west. The first task confronting the new parish was to erect a Church edifice. In June of 1868, tangible results of the first building program appeared at 18th Street and Ferguson (later Carey Avenue). On August 23, 1868, the new Church was dedicated. It was the first Church building erected in the Territory of Wyoming and is the Mother Church of the Episcopal Church in Wyoming. The architectural style was Gothic and the frame structure cost between three and four thousand dollars.
A feature of the small frame Church was a 600-pound bell costing $300 donated by the S.E. Fallons of St. Mark's Church in Philadelphia. The inscriptions on the bell read "From St. Mark's Philadelphia, to St. Mark's Cheyenne, Wyoming" and "The Mountains and Hills shall break forth before you into singing." The bell was first used on April 4th, 1869, and is considered the oldest Church bell in the State of Wyoming. It now hangs in the Bell Tower Garden outside of St. Mark's and is viewable by the public.
During the 1870's, St. Mark's Church and the City of Cheyenne struggled for survival. However, during those lean times the seeds of the cattle industry were sown and were to bear fruit in the early 1880's. The few years following 1880 were the "Golden Year" for Cheyenne. Cattle raising attracted wealthy, well-educated and adventurous people from the East and Europe. The price of cattle was high and fortunes quickly made. With the fortunes came the desire for culture, beauty, and buildings of permanence and dignity. In response to this and back by the need for larger facilities, St. Mark's Church undertook a building project.
Lots for the construction of a new Church were obtained in 1885 at the corner of 19th Street and Central Avenue. Work began on the new Church in 1886; by fall, walls and a roof had been completed and the cornerstone laid. However, the disastrous winter of 1886-1887 killed thousands of cattle on the open range and the financial depression that followed prevented the Church from being finished for another two years. A loan from the American Church Building Fund was required before the interior of the building could be finished. The first services were held in the new building August 19, 1888.
According to tradition, the inspiration for the design of St. Mark's came from the Stoke Poges Church near London. This ancient church, dating from 1080 AD was made famous as the site where Thomas Gray wrote "Elegy in a Country Church Yard." The architectural style of St. mark's is Old English with pointed arches, massive buttresses, plain finishing and a high-pitched shingled room. The architect was Henry M. Congdon of New York City.
Construction was begun in 1886. The stone work was done by Mr. William Torrey and the interior woodworking was done by Mr. George East. The red lava stone was quarried at Castle Rock, Colorado.
Care has been taken to preserve the original exterior design of the Church. Only the addition of the bell tower in 1925 has altered the profile of the 1886 construction. In 1912, a Parish House was carefully designed to match the Main Church in style. The same Colorado stone was used. Periodic landscaping, fencing, a stone wall known as the Kingham Walkway, and a new entry on the west have further enhanced the building over the years.
The interior of St. Mark's contains the original altar, wooden fixtures, pews, and open beams placed in the building in 1888. The hand carved and simply embellished woodwork is complemented by deep red kneeling and seat cushions. The wooden cross that once graced the First St. Mark's of Cheyenne from 1868 is mounted on the west wall of the nave.
Like the exterior, the interior of St. Mark's has had numerous improvements and additions over the years. Great care ahs been taken to reiatin the original design leaving the basic furnishings as they were in 1888. Modern improvements include the installation of a Reuter Pipe Organ and marble floor (1951), Christian Education Classrooms (1964), and a Passageway Addition (1968), providing a Choir Room, vesting closets, Music Director's Office, passageway between the Parish Hall and Church, restrooms and a new west entrance. Again, great care was always taken to match design and materials with existsing appointment.
All the large stained-glass windows now seen in the nave and those flanking the altar were in place at the dedication of the Church in 1888. The clerestory windows date from the 1920's to 1951. All the windows are from the workrooms of master craftsmen and most of them are signed. One, now in the Passageway Foyer, is by Tiffany. This was added in 1890 and completed in the main "set" of windows. In the remodeling of 1968, the place of the Tiffany window was needed for an opening into the Passageway and the window was moved into the foyer.
Many memorable events have occurred in St. Mark's history through the years. In November of 1903, Cheyenne was alive with the Tom Horn Affair. Accused of killing young Willie Nickell, Horn was tried by jury, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. St. Mark's Assistant Rector, the Rev. Watson, tried converting Tom Horn the night before his execution and the rector, the Rev. Rafter, prayed on the hanging platform right up until the time of Horn's death. A special service was held at St. Mark's for Tom Horn after his death.
The funeral of the wife and three small daughters of General John J. Pershing took place at St. Mark's on August 31, 1915. Mrs. Pershing, daughter of Wyoming's United States Senator Francis E. Warren, along with three of her four children had met their death in a fire at the Presidio army post in California. Following an impressive ceremony at St. Mark's, the burials took place at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheynne. In spite of this great loss, Pershing went on to attain international fame as General of the Armies in World War I.
October 11, 1936, was another noteworthy day at St. Mark's. That day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, accompanied by Secret Service guards, entered the Church and quietly worshiped with the congregation. Roosevelt was in Cheyenne campaigning for his second term as President. The occasion also marked Eleanor Roosevelt's 52nd birthday. Today, the pew that they used has been set aside for handicapped/wheelchair access.
Long recognized as the "Church of Governors," eleven of Wyoming's twenty-six governors, representing every area of the State, have been members of or worshiped with St. Mark's congregation. These include Amos W. Barber (Acting), 1890-1893, who served during the Johnson County Cattle War; Fenimore Chatterton (Acting), 1903-1905; Bryant B. Brooks, 1905-1922; Joseph M. Carey, 1911-1915; Robert D. Carey, 1919-1923; William B. Ross, 1923-1924; Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1925-1927, who was the first woman governor in the United States; Lester C. Hung, 1943-1949; Milward L. Simpson, 1955-1959; Jack R. Gage (Acting), 1961-1963; and Clifford P. Hansen, 1963-1967.
St. Mark's has served the affairs of the Cheyenne community admirably throughout the years, including the two World Wars and the missile construction "boom" of the 1960's. These were periods when heavy demands were placed upon the Church.
Being one of Cheyenne's historic landmarks, St. Mark's Episcopal Church is visited annually by hundreds of people from every denomination, from all parts of the country, and from all walks of life. Visitors take special interest in the plaques that mark the appointments and items of historical significance.
History adapted from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory & Nomination Form, dated February 26, 1970.
