To accommodate the growing number of Catholics in the Clarendon area, in 1892, St. Mary's church was built.  It was the first church building for a Catholic congregation ever raised in the Panhandle of Texas.  It was on the corner of McClelland and Montgomery.

St. Mary's also became the first headquarters for missionary efforts on the "Last Frontier".  It took $1700 to complete the little church in Clarendon.

(Although there were Catholic congregations in Mobeetie and in Tascosa prior to 1892, no churches were built there.)

The chuch suffered an irreputable blow on April 23, 2017.  A vehicle struck the building pushing it off the foundation, breaking the sill plate, and dislodging the structure; deeming it unsafe to enter or use.  Engineers and an architect evaluation recommended damage was to great to salvage. 

The building was demolished on Sepember 9, 2019.