The history of Grace Church is a story of people.  These are those devoted Christians who forged a civilization out of a wilderness in the 19th century and provided a place of worship for themselves and their descendants.  We are grateful for their efforts and honor their memory.

The founder of Grace Episcopal Church, Chaplin S. Hedges, began his career in Monroe in September, 1847, as principal of the Ouachita Female Academy.  Little biographical data about Hedges has been discovered; however, in response to a question of how Hedges became the first Episcopal Priest in Monroe, the Reverend Girault M. Jones, former Bishop of Louisiana, surmised:  “As for reasons why the Reverend Mr. Hedges came to Monroe, i suspect that he was an itinerant teacher who, being on the scene, was given oversight of the small congregation.  So many of our early clergy went out as teachers and then took on some local ministry.”

The Reverend Roderick H. Ranney succeeded Hedges as pastor of Grace Church in 1850, and served until September, 1852.  Like Hedges, he was also associated with the Female Academy during the eighteen months that he was in the community.  After Ranney’s resignation in 1852, the right Reverend Leonidas K. Polk, Bishop of Louisiana, journeyed to Monroe and recorded some observations about the regions in his diary.  An excerpt states that “after a perilous journey, from the swollen condition of the streams, several of which I had to swim, i reached (Monroe), having traveled by boat and 50 miles by open wagon.”

In 1852, Monroe remained a small frontier town with a population of only 435 citizens.  During this early period, in settlements where there were not enough communicants of any one denomination to build a church, the various religious sects united and organized “union” or “community” churches.  Monroe citizens launched such a community effort to build a place for protestant worship.  Aid was solicited through the women from the local inhabitants and also the Masons for funds to erect a building that could be utilized as a meeting place for protestant denominations as well as the fraternal order.  Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians alternated worshipping one Sunday each month.  Despite the friendly rivalry, there was cooperation among the religious groups in this southern rural society.  Denominational lines were not strictly adhered to, and many of the townspeople attended whichever sect was holding services that particular Sunday.

After the resignation of the Reverend Ranney, Grace Church remained without a priest until March 1, 1855.  The Reverend Francis R. Holeman became rector, but he, too, resigned after a few months.  Even though Grace Church was listed as an organized congregation by the Convention of 1854, the group was “not in union with the diocese”.  In 1860, Bishop Polk, accompanied by the Reverend Thomas Lawson from Bastrop, came to Monroe.  At this time, Grace Church was organized as a new parish and retained the same name as the former organization.  [It is important to note that the Rev. Lawson routinely held services, including weddings and funerals, for the Ouachita communicants during this time and throughout the time of the Civil War.  Many times, he may have been the only resident Episcopal minister in north Louisiana.]

At the Convention of 1861, Louisiana declared that it was no longer a diocese in union with the Episcopal Church in the United States.  The dioceses of the Confederacy, led by Bishops Stephen Elliott of Georgia and Leonidas Polk, organized the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America.  No changes, however, were made in doctrine, policy, or liturgy except for several political references in the prayer book and the consecration of a new bishop in Alabama.  Since the diocese of Louisiana did not meet in the General Convention during the period of the “Confederate Church,” the Louisiana diocese was considered under its authority, and from 1861 to 1866, it was an autonomous diocese.  When the General Convention met in Philadelphia in 1862, the southern representatives were merely noted as being absent.  Unity was restored with a minimum of bitterness when the General Convention met again in Philadelphia three years later in 1865.  By 1866, Louisiana was once again in the union and thereby resumed its former association with the other dioceses of the American Episcopal Church.

On May 7, 1866, Grace Church, represented by W. J. Q. Baker, was admitted into the

union with the Convention of the Diocese of Louisiana.  The congregation of Grace Church

was incorporated the next day.  The original incorporators were: James O. Richardson,

Robert C. Strother, Robert Richardson, Robert Jemison, John G. Sanders,

Charles Delery, Robert Dortch, and H. R. Pease.  The founding fathers were also listed

as “the Vestry of Grace Church of Monroe.”

In 1867, Reverend Lawson moved from Bastrop to Monroe and increased the Monroe Church services to twice a month.  Like his predecessors, Lawson also became affiliated with the Ouachita Female Academy.  Described as a scholar and an eloquent speaker, Lawson contributed to the dawn of a brighter literary and intellectual future for Monroe.  After the incorporation of Grace Church and the appointment of a vestry, Lawson initiated plans for the construction of a church edifice.  He accumulated about five thousand dollars for the project and purchased lots on the corner of St. John and Oak Streets for the site of the church building.

Members of the congregation contributed sacrificially as they sought to achieve their goal.  The women, especially, work untiringly.  They helped to raise money by their needlework and other products which they assembled at bazaars and fairs.  They even sponsored theatrical plays, recitals, and dances.  A notice in the Monroe newspaper substantiates the numerous functions undertaken by the ladies of Grace Church.  When the church had raised enough money, work on the structure began.  The Daily Telegraph reported on February 23, 1871, that the bricks for Mr. Lawson’s Episcopal Church were being

transported.  The cornerstone of the new Episcopal Church was laid with great ceremony on March 29, 1871, and construction continued for many years.

When Reverend Lawson resigned on December 1, 1871, the church was still not completed.  The Reverend John Henry Meddell took charge of Grace Church on January 1, 1872.  It was in this year that the Episcopalians first held services in their new building.  Although not yet completed, it would ultimately become one of the most handsome edifices in the state.  Lack of money still prevented the installation of pews and the plastering of walls.

The first confirmation was administered in the new church on Sunday, December 8, 1872, by Bishop Joseph Pere Bell Wilmer.  When Meddell resigned his position at Grace Church on December 31, 1872, he was succeeded by the Reverend Alfred Severiano Clark on January 6, 1873.  The local newspaper carried the first of numerous notices of religious services to be held at Grace Episcopal Church every Sunday at 10:00 a.m.  The Revered Clark resigned July 1, 1874.

The following is a list of rectors serving Grace Parish:

1. •1875 - Reverend William F. Adams
   

2. •April 1, 1878 - Reverend Lawson returned for a short time
   

3. •June 18, 1879 until December 13, 1880 - Reverend James Philson
   

4. •December 14, 1880 until July 31, 1882 - no rector at this time
   

5. •August 1, 1882 until December 14, 1884 - Revered Ralph Hylton Prosser
   

6. •December 15, 1884 until September 1886 - No rector at this time
   

7. •September 1886 until 1893 - Reverend John B. Moore
   

8. •1893 - Reverend Charles Coleman Kramer
   

9. •January 1894 until October 1895 - Reverend Harry L. Fitch
   

10. •December 1895 until October 1899 - Reverend John Feamley
    

11. •1901 until 1902 - Reverend George P. Bentley
    

12. •1903 -  Reverend J. de Q. Donehoo
    

13. •1905 until 1911 - Reverend Henry R. Carson (later elected Bishop of Haiti)
    

14. •1911 until 1921 - Reverend Arthur R. Price
    

15. •1921 - Reverend Henry J. Brown, temporary
    

16. •December 1921  until October 1, 1949 - Reverend Edward Farren Hayward
    

Through Father Hayward’s wisdom, integrity, and guidance, Grace Church began to grow and prosper.  Bishop Davis Sessums, in a letter to Hayward on November 9, 1921, made an accurate prediction when he wrote, “I feel your coming to Monroe will mean very much for the development of the church there.”  Father Hayward accepted the challenge and found the congregation’s response to his ministry rewarding.

For more of our history, please consider purchasing a copy of 160 Years of Grace:  A History of Grace Episcopal Church (1847-2007) for $50.00 + shipping through our Gift Shoppe.

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