Martin Co., Texas - News: Stanton Convent ============================================ Submitted to the Martin County, TXGenWeb by: Michelle White ============================================ Stanton restoring a unique piece of West Texas history STANTON, TEXAS - It's been vandalized, and it's been burglarized. But, residents of Martin County aren't giving up a landmark that, in its day was a religious and education center of West Texas. Busted-out windows, and some stolen items from the Stanton Convent, have caretakers curious about why someone would do this to a unique piece of local and regional history. Stanton residents are now doing everything they can to save the convent that, quite literally, put them on the map. The convent is currently being renovated. A group of German Carmelite monks, settling in what was once called Marienfeld, built the structure as a monastery, back in 1881. It later became a convent and a girls school, directed by an order of nuns, the Sisters of Mercy. Residents stress the convent's importance to the community, and its key part in the city's history. "Stanton would not be here ... this was our founding heritage," Kaythryn Burch, a former board member of the group dedicated to restoring the convent. "That is why a town was established here, for that purpose. It later became a convent, and a school where women were trained." If you want to find out more about how you can help with the convent project.... Contact the stanton city manager.. ---