Last Church from Thurber, Texas: St. Barbara’s

By Mary Adams

After the coal mines and brick plan closed and a fire destroyed much of the downtown, the Texas and Pacific Coal Company had a decision to make, to rebuild or to close the town. They chose to close and salvage every piece they could. They sold houses and other buildings that could me moved, the wood off the school building, and even dug water and gas pipes up and sold them. There is limited documentation that shows where the buildings or houses were moved to however, there is one building that we know the entire history for, St. Barbara’s Catholic Church.

Photo on loan from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Archives.

During the early years of Thurber, various churches shared the same building alternating days for their services. However, in 1892, the Texas Pacific Coal & Oil Co. built a Catholic Church and named St. Thuibus, though it the name was changed to St. Barbara’s, the patroness saint of miners. The first, of approximately 2500, baptismal rights were administered in January of 1893, and it is said that at least one priest could hear confession in six different languages.

As Thurber was being dismantled and sold off, the Catholic Church building was moved a few miles north to the town of Mingus. It remained an active church until the 1970’s when the population in the area had dwindled so much that the Dioceses decided to stop holding mass in it. In 1993 the Thurber Historical Association acquired the building and moved it back to property in what was once Thurber, where it still stands today, sadly in need of repair.

           Today St. Barbara’s Church still stands, however, it is in need of repair. The Thurber Historical Association and local concerned citizens have banded together to raise funds for the needed repairs in order to save this piece of Thurber History. If you would like to learn more and contribute to the effort to save St. Barbara’s you can find more information at this link. CLICK HERE