Early Churches of Calcasieu Parish, La Submitted by Margaret Rentrop Moore Source: Southwest Louisiana Biographical & Historical by William Henry Perrin; published 1891 page 146. ** ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Churches.-The Baptists were the pioneers of religion in Calcasieu. They established their first church on the Calcasieu River in the midst of the earliest settlement. It was called Antioch church, and some years after it was removed to the Big Woods, about ten miles from the original site. It is still used as a church, and still bears the name of Antioch. Since its removal to Big Woods, a number of the members withdrew and formed a church, in the immediate vicinity, of the Freewill Baptist or Hardshell persuasion. Next after the Baptists came the Methodists. Their first church was called Ryan's Chapel, and was located about eight miles from where Lake Charles now stands, on the West Fork of the Calcasieu River. After Lake Charles was laid out as a town, other denominations organized churches. The first church in the town was a Methodist, and for some time its building was used both as church and school house. Then came the Catholics, the German Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodist Episcopal and ongregationalists in the order named. The churches of Lake Charles are supplied with spiritual advisors at present as follows: The Baptist, Rev. G. B. Rogers, pastor; Methodist Episcopal South, Rev. T. J. Upton, pastor; First Presbyterian, Rev. George Frazer, D.D., supply; Methodist Episcopal, Rev. C. A. King, pastor; Catholic church, Rev. Father Fallon, rector; Lutheran, Rev. S. Hoernicke, pastor; First Congregationalist, Rev. Henry L. Hubbell,pastor; Episcopalian, no rector at present; the last one was Rev. E. J. Hammond. Churches of the different denominations have edifices throughout the parish. Most of the villages have one or more church organizations.