St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence is on Farm Road 2401 in south central Glasscock County. The community developed when the area was divided into farms in the late 1940s. The farms were settled by Catholic families of German descent. A Catholic church, the center of the community, was built, and the first Mass was celebrated there in 1948. The parishioners completed a new parish hall in 1959 and a new church nave in 1970. The community adopted the name of the church. A post office operated at St. Lawrence from 1949 to 1957. Beginning in 1950, parishioners each year joined with the small Catholic congregation of St. Thomas Church in Midkiff for a fall festival that regularly attracts several thousand visitors. Festival activities include a barbecue, an auction, a raffle, a dance, game booths, crafts, and bingo. In the late 1980s St. Lawrence included two cotton gins, one store, and a cemetery.