History

Since its establishment in the middle of the 1800s, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has stood as a testament to the determination of dedicated parishioners to proclaim the love of God through Jesus Christ. In 1850 a group of Episcopalians purchased five wooded acres in Spring Hill, then a small village on the outskirts of Mobile. A severe yellow fever epidemic delayed completion of the church, but in 1859 the serenely beautiful, white columned building was finished. The congregation was admitted to the Diocese of Alabama that same year and the Church was consecrated on June 24, 1861.


In 1862 Bishop Richard Hooker Wilmer moved from Greensboro, Alabama to Spring Hill and preached regularly at St. Paul’s until churches were closed by military orders during Reconstruction. By the early 1900’s the little church almost faded into oblivion, but the ember of faith was kept burning by a few devoted men and women whose support insured the doors of St. Paul’s would never be closed.


By the 1960s the congregation had grown ten-fold, requiring the construction of a larger building. In 1964 the new church, featuring Georgian Colonial design, was dedicated and continues to serve a thriving parish of 936 families today.

History Video

In 2019 a project was undertaken to preserve an oral history of St. Paul's. When the project was finished, the parish gathered to share a meal and view the video, posted here.