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St. Mark’s Episcopal Church: A Rich Legacy That Continues Today
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1860 by Joseph Burnett, a native resident of Southborough, Massachusetts. Burnett’s desire was to create a local parish in which he and others could worship in the Anglican tradition. As a businessman and chemist, he developed and marketed the world-famous Burnett Vanilla Extract; as the owner/proprietor of Deerfoot Farms, Burnett had brought various breeds of English cows to the United States and created one of the region’s largest dairy-producing enterprises; as a concerned citizen he founded St. Mark’s School, and played a major role in the establishment of the Fay School, two well-regarded private preparatory institutions that are in still operation today.
Joseph Burnett St. Mark's entryway before 1890
The first Episcopal service in Southborough was the baptism of Joseph Burnett’s daughter in 1850, and was held at the Pilgrim Church that stands just next to St. Mark’s today. Thereafter, services were held in a stone mill (which still stands on Deerfoot Road, near Main Street). By 1862, Mr. Burnett and his colleagues acquired 1.8 acres of land just west of the Southborough Town House, and gave it to the parish under the stipulation that the church built there should be “free to all, with no distinctions as to wealth, color, race or station” -- a very unusual and forward-thinking concept for that time.
The Construction of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
The first St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was essentially the mid-section of the present-day building. As the congregation grew over the years, stonework extensions and the stone tower were added. In 1905, the church was expanded eastward and the chancel raised to it present height as a memorial to Joseph Burnett who died in 1894. The historic stained glass windows, some of which had been brought over from England, include two by Tiffany and eight by Kempe. There is also one window built by the well known American artist Maitland Armstrong.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church before 1890
St. Mark's circa 1895 Altar circa 1905
The rectory building, located next to St. Mark’s church, was originally a private home, but now houses the current rector of St. Mark’s church and his/her family. In 2000, St. Mark’s Parish Hall was constructed in order to better meet the needs of our growing congregation and community.
Historical Ties to the Community, the Episcopal Church, and the World
Until 1910, the headmaster of St. Mark’s School served as the rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Since that time, St. Mark’s has been fortunate to be served by rectors who have made long-term commitments to our parish. The Rev. Edward Cheney served from 1910 to 1945; the Rev. Gene Goll from 1950 to 1985; the Rev. John Chane from 1987 to 1996. In 1998, Fr. Craig Lister, then rector at St. Dunstan’s in Carmel Valley, California, accepted our call and became the fourth rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
Over the years, several prominent historical figures have attended services at St. Mark’s, including the great American poet James Russell Lowell, President Grover Cleveland, and King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan. Two Episcopal bishops have emerged from St. Mark’s as well: Bishop Clark Greu, who served as an interim rector of St. Mark’s between 1985-87, and Bishop John Chane.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church today
Parish Hall Rectory
Our parish ties with St. Mark’s School as well as neighboring Fay School have continued over time. St. Mark’s School, with its Episcopalian denomination, was canonically under the jurisdiction of the rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church for many years, although now is a private Episcopal Chapel under the Bishop of Massachusetts. Nick Noble, a parishioner at St. Mark’s, served for twenty years as the Chaplain of Fay School, and many weekly Fay School Chapel services are still presently held at St. Mark’s.