St. James' Episcopal Church, named for James the Greater, is a historic Episcopal church located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The only Episcopal church in Manitowoc County, St. James' is a "broad church" parish in the Diocese of Fond du Lac. It is the oldest continually operating congregation in Manitowoc County, first meeting in 1841. and organizing in 1848. The current church building, an example of Gothic Revival architecture, was consecrated in 1902. The congregation is active in community service and social justice ministries. History Richard Cadel, a missionary to the Oneida nation, made his first trip to Manitowoc County, and held the first Protestant worship service there in Manitowoc Rapids in the late 1830s. The first documented gathering of the forming congregation was in February 1841, with about 60 congregants. On 28 February 1848, the congregation was formally organized as St. James' Mission of the Diocese of Wisconsin (which later sub-divided into the Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, and Milwaukee dioceses). The first graduate of Nashotah House seminary, The Rev. Gustaf Unonius, became the first Rector of St. James' on 20 April 1848. Initially, worship was held on the upper floor of the Unonius family home. Worship was later held at a local schoolhouse. The first church building, designed by Philadelphia architect R.A. Gilpin, was erected at Ninth and Chicago streets in Manitowoc. It was constructed of white pine fastened with oak pegs. Bishop Jackson Kemper laid the cornerstone 24 November 1851. The church, built at a cost of $1500, was consecrated 25 July 1852 (the Feast of St. James). In 1864, St. James' was removed from the mission list and became a self-supporting parish. The church also provided Episcopal missions in Branch, Manitowoc Rapids, and Two Rivers through the remainder of the 1800s. Architecture and design The Rev. S. R. S. Gray became Rector of St. James' in 1895, at a time when the congregation was outgrowing the original building. Construction on a new building commenced in 1901, using plans Gray had brought that were based on an Anglican church near Oxford, England. On 14 August 1901, Bishop Reginald Weller laid the cornerstone. The building was consecrated on 25 July 1902 (the Feast of St. James), fifty years after consecration of the original church building. The building cost approximately $35,000. The exterior uses gray dolomitic limestone as the main material, with lighter Bedford limestone as trim. The interior walls of