Christ Episcopal Church, the oldest Episcopal church in Texas, traces its history to 1838, when the Rev. Caleb S. Ives was appointed missionary to the Republic of Texas. The first service was held on Christmas Day, and the congregation was formally organized on January 27, 1839. After Albert Clinton Horton and Abner Lee Clements donated land, the first building was erected, and the first service in the new building was held on Easter Sunday 1841. Ives and his wife, Katherina, established a school, the Matagorda Academy, which operated until 1849. After the first church was destroyed in a hurricane in 1854, this building was erected 400 yards west of the original site. Some materials from the 1841 church were salvaged for use in the new structure, including the altar, communion rail, altar cross, and pews. Although this building has been damaged in numerous hurricanes, parts of it date to 1856. Showing influences of the Italianate and Gothic Revival styles of architecture, it features round-headed, paired lancet windows.