Historic Bastrop Christian Church raising funds for restoration project

BASTROP, Texas - The Bastrop community is raising funds to help preserve an icon of Bastrop’s Historic District, the Bastrop Christian Church. 

The preservation committee said the church needs some repairs, so they’re hosting a fundraiser this weekend and next.

The only church on Church Street in Bastrop, the Bastrop Christian Church, was built in 1895 with wood embellishment, arch windows, and 27 stained-glass windows.

"When you go to small towns, you see these small churches, sometimes they’re brick, sometimes they’re stone, and often they’re wooden and it’s the wooden churches that are hard to retain over decades and decades," Building Preservation Committee Chair Earl Ellisor said.

This wooden church is on the Preservation Texas ‘Most Endangered Places’ list. 

"We’re trying to save this one and make sure it’s safe for future generations and it’s become rather iconic in Downtown Bastrop," Ellisor said.

Architectural engineers said it’s in need of some love. In 2018, the roof was replaced, now it needs emergency structural repairs and the stained-glass windows need to be fixed.

"They said the most striking feature is the 27 stained-glass windows, the most damaged and needing to be repaired feature, the most in jeopardy feature is the stain glass windows," Ellisor said.

The restoration committee said they need about $100,000 to fix the damage. This weekend and next, the church is hosting a one-act play by a Bastrop author with a four-course dinner to raise some funds.

"I think we offer a really unique experience and at the same time all the funds you spend will go towards preserving this old building," Ellisor said.

Ellisor said most of the work should be complete by the end of 2023.