The History of St. Agnes' Church

There was an Episcopal congregation holding services in Cowan as far back as 1894.  The small congregation, known as St. Saviour's Mission, met in a one-room house above Boiling Fork Creek.

The tiny house could scarcely accommodate a growing congregation.  Under the leadership of The Rev'd Stirling Claiborne, the congregation acquired an abandoned chapel near Murfreesboro, Tennessee and moved it to Cowan by railroad.  The St. Agnes' Sisterhood in New York City payed the waybill for the move.

On May 3, 1899 the building was dedicated in its new location in Cowan and the church was renamed St. Agnes' Mission to honor the sisters who made the move possible.