The origins of the Episcopal denomination in the area trace to Bishop Leonidas Polk of Louisiana, who visited in 1839 and returned in 1841 to perform the first baptism in northeast Texas at Pine Creek, a few miles north of Paris. In 1870, the Diocese of Texas appointed Rev. Francis R. Starr as missionary to Paris and nearby areas, and he preached his first service in Paris on Feb. 7, 1870; the Church of the Holy Cross was received into the diocese on June 9, 1870. Its first vestry consisted of I.W. Wells, J.E. Roberts, J.K.P. Campbell, D.J. Ford, and J.W. Moore, and Rev. Starr served as rector for the church's first seven years. The original facilities were a frame chapel and a log cabin rectory where the Lamar County Courthouse now stands. After several moves between 1884 and 1887, the congregation settled on South Main Street, but that church was destroyed in the Paris fire of 1916. The present Gothic Renaissance style church is believed to have used architectural plans furnished by English-born parishioner Richard H. Blyth and to have been modeled after an identical church in the British Midlands. The church and rectory were completed in 1917-18, the Bettes Memorial Parish Hall was built in 1920, and the Ruth McLaughlin Riddle Hall was added in 1984. In Jan. 1921, Holy Cross hosted the 26th Convention of the Diocese of Dallas as the second-oldest parish in the diocese. From 1944 to 1974, Rev. James W. O'Connell, later known simply as "Rector," served here, building membership, organizing the church's youth, and becoming part of community life. Through its organizations and outreach, Holy Cross has emphasized building and nurturing relationships with fellow parishioners and the community.