St. Stephen's Episcopal Church began as St. James Mission in 1848 and was reorganized as a parish in 1855, taking the name of the first martyr at the suggestion of Bishop Leonidas Polk, the "Fighting Bishop" of the Confederacy. Bishop Polk consecrated the church and cemetery in 1859. The church was built with hand-made bricks, and its stained glass windows were made in England. A Confederate monument in the cemetery was erected and dedicated in 1904. Restoration of the church was completed in 1978, and a massive restoration of the cemetery was completed in 1991.