Tonopah’s St. Mark’s P.E. Church celebrates 120 years
TONOPAH — St. Mark’s P.E. Church has sat at 210 University Street since 1906 and has spent its entire history as a church, never shuttering its doors and always acting as a place of worship for Tonopah community members. In a frontier town that has seen so much change in its lifetime, this building has truly stood the test of time.
With 120 years of religious service to commemorate, a celebration is in the works and the community is invited to enjoy an open house and the reveal of a new historical marker for St. Mark’s, scheduled for the Saturday of Jim Butler Days weekend.
Many in the local community will be familiar with St. Mark’s P.E. Church, also as the church by the pool, because of its distinctive gothic structure, the long-lasting stone masonry and the stained-glass windows, which are often described as magnificent. The church is also home to one of the oldest, still-functioning pipe organs in the state of Nevada. Suspended from framework to the left of the entry is a classic church bell, which has continued to ring out each Sunday since the church opened its doors all those years ago.
“The church has been operating for 120 years! And that’s very unique in a community such as ours. Most of the buildings built in the same era have been either shut up or repurposed. This has always held true to its original dedication, which is serving the community as a church,” longtime Tonopah resident Karmin Greber told the Pahrump Valley Times.
Greber is a member of Tonopah Community Church, a non-denominational Christian church that has spent roughly the past 10 years utilizing the St. Mark’s building for its services. For many of those years, Tonopah Community Church shared the building with original owners, the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, but in 2024, Tonopah Community Church officially purchased the building and is dedicated to carrying on its operation as a place of worship long into the future.
“We’re very happy to be the new owners and to be able to maintain that presence,” Greber remarked. “It’s not a large premises, but it’s very unique. It elevates your experience to have such a beautiful environment. We’re very grateful for it. It’s a beautiful structure that we are very privileged to use.”
As detailed by information found in a 1980 Nye County Historical Property Survey, located in the online National Archives Catalog, St. Mark’s is a single-story, stone structure measuring 33 by 60 feet, with a full basement, gabled roof and gabled entry overhang featuring decorative gothic arches. Designed by G.B. Lyons, the cornerstone for St. Mark’s was laid on April 18, 1906.
“The St. Mark’s PE Church is significant as one of the best constructed stone buildings in Tonopah,” the Historical Property Survey reads. “It is also noteworthy for having been built by local stonemason E.E. Burdick. He was responsible for the masonry work of the [original] Nye County Courthouse, the H.A. McKim building and the Tonopah Club building (demolished). Its well-crafted detailing and method of construction exhibits some of the finest craftsmanship to be found in Tonopah.”
The building was formally added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and to this day, it retains its original character as well as its original purpose.
“We’re very excited about the 120th anniversary of this building,” Greber said. “We’ll be unveiling a historical marker plaque on Memorial Day weekend. We’re also going to have a float in the Jim Butler Days Parade to celebrate and to highlight the church building and everyone can come over that afternoon to celebrate with us.”
Tonopah Community Church will hold the Open House at St. Mark’s at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, during which Pastor Jim Galli will be offering attendees rides in the Ford Model A that will be featured in this Jim Butler Days Parade. The historical plaque unveiling is slated for 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.
For more information on Tonopah Community Church, visit TonopahChurch.org
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
