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St. Mary’s is the oldest church in continuous use in Lampasas. The simple rectangular nave, built with irregular courses of limestone, has a steeply gabled roof and pointed-arched window and door openings. A short square tower on the northwest corner contains the entrance. The second level of the tower has round windows with stained glass, and the top of the tower is crenellated. Local legend has it that the church was modeled after an English Gothic chapel in Rugby, England, the birthplace of W. T. Campbell, a founding member of the parish. Campbell was publisher of the Lampasas Leader, an investor who became involved in the Spindletop oil boom, and he participated in the organization of the Texas Company (Texaco).