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 History St. Paul's Episcopal Church was founded in 1883, at a time when San Antonio was a frontier town. A young Lieutenant, Robert Coles, stationed at Fort Sam Houston wrote to his mother back in Philadelphia that there was no church near the post and no public transportation, making it difficult for the officers to make it all the way downtown to attend Sunday worship at St. Mark's. Lt. Cole's mother, Mary Coles, was a member of St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, a parish founded to promote the Oxford Movement principles of emphasis on worship and theology, beauty and devotion, the sacramental life, and concern for the poor, the neglected, and the unchurched. Mrs. Coles initially purchased two lots adjacent to Fort Sam Houston and gave them to the Bishop of the Diocese of West Texas, Bishop Elliott, for his use in establishing a mission to serve the soldiers. Following formal organization, she sent $8,500.00 in gold coin by train and stagecoach for the building of St. Paul's Memorial Free Church and stipulating that all the sittings were to be free (this was at a time when is was not uncommon for parishioners to buy or rent pews and lock them!). Soon after this, Mary Coles sent plans for a Gothic Church modeled on an English Country Church design. Contracts were let, construction began, and the original portion of the church was consecrated October 25, 1885 by Bishop Elliott.  Because of its proximity to Ft. Sam Houston, West Texas Military Academy, later known as Texas Military Institute, began operation here. Besides being the preparatory school of the Diocese of West Texas, it is also famous for the fact that General Douglas MacArthur attended there as a child. He served as an acolyte at St. Paul's and is listed as the 21st person confirmed in this parish. For many years the parish would rise or fall with influx or dislocation of military families.
In the late 1940's a decision was made to make St. Paul's "the High Church Anglo-Catholic" parish in the "low church" Diocese of West Texas. At the time this meant simply celebrating the Eucharist at each service and using eucharistic vestments in the liturgical color of the season. Later it meant adding incense and Sanctus bells on high festivals, installing an aumbry for the reservation of the Sacrament, having a confessional for the Sacrament of Penance and a monstrance for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. In the 1950's membership soared and the church building was expanded and rededicated in 1954. As membership grew into the 1960's the facilities were expanded to include the parish hall, education building and courtyard. Ministries at the local, national and international levels made significant contributions to the parish and world. During this time St. Paul's was the first parish in the diocese to have women serve on the Vestry and became the first parish in the Episcopal Church to have a woman, Col. Agnes A. Maley, named Senior Warden.
Since the 1980's, St. Paul's has taken an active role in the Government Hill neighborhood. It helped to found the Government Hill Alliance, the neighborhood association and hosted and participated in the city's South Fort Sam Houston Development Advisory Board. It has provided Halloween and Christmas celebrations for neighborhood children. And St. Paul's has supported Narcotics Anonymous groups over the years, earning the Episcopal Church's designation of Jubilee Parish. In 2001, the church was also rated one of 300 Outstanding Protestant churches throughout the United States for its hands-on outreach and welcoming congregation. In a program called Our Lords Table, over 150 families continue to receive armloads of food two Saturdays a month at the church. This outreach fills the gap in the lives of many seniors and low-income families for whom paychecks do not reach to the end of the month. The church also provides an Emergency Food Pantry and utility bill help. And in 2005, the church refurbished its education building and opened St. Paul's Episcopal Montessori School, committed to providing an outstanding Montessori-based education to culturally and economically diverse groups of children, ages 2 to 9. Nearly half of the students receive financial aid in an effort to make this mission a reality. 
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