A Brief History of St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley

In 1926 Episcopalians in the Santa Ynez Valley began gathering in homes for worship led by The Rev. Mr. Mockford, Vicar of St. Mary’s Church in Lompoc. The Rev. Mr. Maemann continued the work in the Valley when he became Vicar of St. Mary’s.

All Saints-by-the-Sea in Montecito took over the work in the Santa Ynez Valley in the 1930s with The Rev. Dean Weld and The Rev. John De Forest Pettus.

The congregation became a recognized parochial mission of All Saints during the years that The Rev. Pettus served in the Santa Ynez Valley. The growing congregation met in local schools, the old American Legion Hall (now the Santa Ynez Valley Women’s Club building), and then at Bethania Lutheran Church in Solvang. The Women’s Guild that continues today organized during the Pettus years.

Early members of the worshipping community were Mr. and Mrs. Odin Buell (Josephine), Mrs. Fred Mattei, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Herdman, Viola Tuckerman Schley Hansen, Mr. and Mrs. Landon Barnes (Elizabeth), Mr. and Mrs. William Hunt, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Batty, Mr. and Mrs. John Stout, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Rich, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Imbach, Mr. and Mrs. Milo Best, Amory Hare Hutchinson, and Miss Lucy Bancroft who helped with the young people of the church.

The Rev. Pettus left to begin work as the Chaplain of Midland School and The Rev. Howard Brummet became the first Vicar of the Episcopal Mission in the Santa Ynez Valley.

There was an interim of several years after Fr. Brummet left and worship leadership and pastoral care were provided by a Mr. Brown (a seminarian), by The Rev. Glenn Lutz of the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church and a group of laity including Benedict Rich, William Hunt, Robert Herdman, Toby Woods, and Paul Squibb.

Paul Squibb was involved in founding the Dunn School and was also the founder of Midland School. He chaired the meeting at Mattei’s Tavern at which St. Mark’s name was chosen due to its proximity to the San Marcos Pass.

On January 27, 1943 St. Mark’s was accepted as a congregation into the Diocese of Los Angeles.

The Rev. David Pierce-Jones began his work as Vicar of St. Mark’s on June 1, 1944. A few years later, on June 28, 1948, the first service was held in St. Mark’s new church building on Laurel and Alisal in Solvang.

An architectural plan had been developed for the new church building, the location being chosen after considering sites in Ballard and Buellton. When the plan was deemed too expensive to execute, members banded together and built a simple, redwood church.

Early organists were Mrs. Ben Rich, who drove to the church from Midland School during the lean war years of gas rationing, and also Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons and Mrs. Kenneth Brown.

A month after the dedication of the new building, The Rev. Pierce-Jones retired and The Rev. John Worely Duddington became the Vicar. During his tenure, the new vicarage was built and occupied by Fr. Duddington and his wife Judy. When they left St. Mark’s in July of 1951 they returned to the Philippines, having work in Asia previously.