The History of The Episcopal Church in Hood County, It’s Connection with the Historic Old Acton Masonic Lodge Building, and That Building’s Journey to the Present Day
By: Melinda Jo Ray
Episcopalians have been worshiping in one way or another in Hood County since 1947 when the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas bought the old camp property between Granbury and Thorp Spring and turned it into Camp Crucis in 1947. In November 1949, St. Luke’s in Stephenville planted a mission that was named the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Granbury.
The mission closed in late 1950 for reasons that are unclear, but Camp Crucis thrived and became well known throughout north Texas. That original First Christian Church building was later relocated and now serves as a concert hall for the Dora Lee Langdon Center Cultural Center and is located on the northwest corner of its property in downtown Granbury.
Twenty years passed. Granbury changed and began to grow rapidly with the building of the DeCordova Bend Dam and the formation of Lake Granbury. In late 1970 a group of Episcopalians found each other and first met to discuss forming a mission church in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Richardson. By December 1970 the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas decided to appoint a new director and area missioner to Camp Crucis. On January 1, 1971, Fr. W. Hume Reeves took on the task here in Hood County, and on January 3, 1971, at 8:30 a.m. he presided over the first official service of what became Good Shepherd Episcopal Mission. In a happy repeat of history, the Christian church once again extended hospitality, and this service was held in the little sanctuary in downtown Granbury as the services of the Church of the Redeemer were some twenty years prior. The first service was attended by 15 people with 8 others sending word of interest. The first hymn sang was “Holy, Holy, Holy”. It is unclear if any of the folks involved with the earlier mission were a part of this group, but it seems providential at least that their meeting place was the same.
Four years passed as the “preaching station” continued to grow, solidify, and hold services every week at the First Christian facility under the leadership of Fr. Reeves. They chose the name Good Shepherd early on, and it was under that name that the over fifty-member congregation was promoted to official mission status by Bishop A. Donald Davies of the Episcopal (ECUSA) Diocese of Dallas in early 1974. In May of that same year the mission group purchased the historic Masonic Lodge / Church building in Acton.
The people of the church were very conscious of being custodians of a piece of Hood County history as owners of this historic building which dates to the 1850’s and. was actually not only a Masonic meeting place, but a school, and the original home of five different Hood County churches
– the Baptists (who built the building along with the Masons and later owned it outright after the Acton lodge merged with the Granbury Lodge) who worshiped there first under their first pastor, Joe Robinson.
The Baptists shared the building with the community as a school and also as a place of worship for other Christian denominations as they began churches in the Acton community during the mid to late 1800’s – the Methodists, the Presbyterians, and the Church of Christ, and later in the mid-20th century the Episcopalians.
Great care was taken to restore the chapel to as close to the original exterior appearance as possible, and the building qualified for a Texas Historical Marker.
Less than a month later Bishop Davies came down from Dallas to view the property and hold a service on the lawn.
That day the gathered members made pledges totaling $107,000.00 to renovate the limestone ruin into a working, restored home for their church. Tom Wagley was elected as Good Shepherd’s first Senior Warden, Joe Winters was head of that first Good Shepherd Building Committee, and Dee Carpenter became the first church treasurer. By February 1975, the renovation was complete, and on February 2, of that year the first service was held in the worship space on the ground floor. The second floor contained a bathroom, kitchen, gathering room, office and one small classroom. Good Shepherd was on its way to becoming a full-fledged self-supporting parish church.
In 1975, Father Reeves retired, and Father Michael Merriman came to Granbury with his wife Cherrie to become the Director of Camp Crucis and the Vicar of Good Shepherd. For a couple of years Cherrie served as the church organist, and then passed the post on to Duncan McMahan, a young band and choir director in the Granbury schools. He held the post for over 20 years. Fr. Merriman became a full-time priest for Good Shepherd in 1980. The church was growing and at that time began offering daily services including Morning and Evening Prayer Monday-Saturday and Holy Eucharist on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. During Fr. Merriman’s tenure Good Shepherd became a parish.
By 1982 – 83, when Fr. Merriman left and Fr. Charles A. Hough was called as rector, membership was well over 100. In the 1980’s, under Fr. Hough’s leadership the parish growth not only sky-rocketed, but the church assumed a prominent role in the Christian presence in the Granbury community.
Fr. Hough was one of the founding members of the Granbury Ministerial alliance, and he and Good Shepherd’s leadership were extremely involved in the founding of People Helping People, a community organization focused on providing practical aid to persons and families in need or crisis. Fr. Merriman and Fr. Hough and the church leadership in those days forged a tradition of outreach to the needy by the people of Good Shepherd that has continued to the present day.
The years from 1975 to the early 1990’s were years of rapid growth and much involvement in parish activities by an active and committed congregation. The Christian Education program included classes from nursery school to the adult forum. In 1980 a parish hall and Sunday School building was built on property acquired across the road from the little rock church. That building was a beehive of activity most days of the week with meetings, classes, breakfasts, lunches, socials, bazaars, craft and rummage sales, and lots of fellowship and fun. There was Vacation Bible School in the summers, the ECW Christmas Bazaar and Santa’s Workshop in the winters, and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew met for breakfasts, and some afternoons the Daughters of the King met to pray.
By 1986 – 1987 much of the activity had a focus. It was obvious that the little chapel was much loved but also much too small for the worship needs of a parish that now numbered over 230 souls. Poor Fr. Hough was officiating at one service on Saturday evening and three services on Sundays, and there were folding chairs in the center aisle, and often people who stood at the back. Small children sat on laps, or shared the organ bench with Duncan, and on high holy days people listened to the service while standing on the porch outside. Every parish organization was involved in the fundraising efforts for the new “big church”. The plans were drawn up, and in 1987 ground was broken on land adjacent to the parish hall. The new church building was designed to seat over 300 people and was consecrated in September 1988. The chapel continued to be used and cherished by the people of Good Shepherd Church for meetings, prayer services, weddings, and classroom space for several years.
The chapel property became again a joyful cradle for a new addition to the Body of Christ when, in 2025/2026, it was leased to the new local congregation of All-Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, which is part of the Communion of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
May it be a blessing to them as it has been to so many others who sought to follow our Lord in this place.
About the Author
Melinda Jo Ray is a retired librarian whose mother grew up in Hood County. In addition to writing these books, she also shares tales as a volunteer with some of the local museums and historical organizations and through a weekly local history blog called “Nutts About Hood Country History” published thru the Bridge Street History Center at bshc-granbury.org
