STAINED GLASS BEAUTY

Grandfalls, established along what was once the upper falls of the Pecos River in the 1880s, served as a strategic location for settlers R. I. Carr and J. T. Sweatt to generate power for operating their cotton gin courtesy of the river’s current. Carr and Sweatt, brothers-in-law, assisted in drawing other settlers to the region. Carr provided a building for use as a school on his farm as well as a church. New arrivals established homes and businesses, including Dr. Charlotte Bergman, one of few female physicians operating in west Texas at the end of the 19th century.

Just after the turn of the 19th century, local Protestant groups established the Grandfalls Union Church, built in 1910. The church’s simplified Gothic Revival architecture, a good example of a popular style for rural churches of the period, is enhanced with a series of handsome stained glass windows. The “Union” in its name refers to the church’s embrace of non-denominationalism, attracting Protestants of all specific faiths to participate in its services. At over one hundred years old, the church continues to serve the Grandfalls and surrounding community today.