Photo Essay
Santa Inez Church, Terlingua
by Anna Oakley
S
anta Inez was named for the 12-
year-old Roman martyr who was
burned at the stake for her faith,
because ground was broken for the
church on her feast day, January 21, in
1903. Built of adobe block on a stone
foundation, the tiny one-roomed
church has seen over a century of
funerals, baptisms and marriages,
interspersed with the everyday celebra-
tion of faith in the Terlingua mining
town.
The community of Terlingua has in
recent years been working together to
stabilize the crumbling building. A
new roof was put on in the 1990s,
which still needs work. The north side
of the building was rocked in at the
same time, preserving the most weath-
er-worn portion of the building.
More recently, stained-glass win-
dows designed by Crystal Albright and
handmade by Kaci Fullwood were
installed in the church, at least four of
which were paid for by the families of
miners from the town’s heyday.
Currently Bill Ivey, who owns the
ghost own property, with the help of
donated money and labor from
Terlingua locals, has been working to
restucco the entire building to preserve
the crumbling adobe blocks. A web of
rebar has been laid around the walls to
reinforce the structure and fill out the
five- to six-inch loss of adobe on parts
of the building.
Donations of money or materials
are welcome to help preserve this West
Texas gem. Checks made out to The
Terlingua Foundation can be sent to
Cynta de Narvaez at PO Box 294 in
Terlingua, Texas 79852.
16
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2013