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During the spring and summer of 1864, Reverend Giles Alexander Easton (1829-1899) of San Francisco lived in San Mateo, CA, and during this time initiated the first Episcopalian services for a small group that had formed there. The first services were held in the brand new San Mateo Young Ladies' Institute's Reception Room (later known as "Laurel Hall"). Easton returned to San Francisco that fall and the Episcopal Board of Domestic Missions transferred another clergyman, Rev. A.L. Brewer of Detroit, MI, to the new parish. In 07/1865, the Howard Family provided the congregation with two acres and began fundraising to erect a church in 10/1865. A cornerstone was laid on 10/12/1865, just after the end of the Civil War, by Rev. Christopher B. Wyatt of San Francisco's Trinity Church, standing in for the traveling Bishop William Ingraham Kip (1811-1893). From the beginning, the family of William Davis Merry Howard (1818-1856), the prominent landlord in the area, was its main benefactor. Stone for the church's structure came from quarries on Howard family land; a member of the Howard clan, George H. Howard (1864-1935), would become a prominent architect in the Bay Area. Construction concluded less than a year later on 05/23/1866. The congregation's Vestry Treasurer, Albert H. Jordan, designed the first Saint Matthew's Church and its Rectory (1867). Jordan was someone "...to whom very much was due in building both church and rectory, for plans and superintendence as architect, and for general interest and aid." (See The History of San Mateo County, [San Francisco: B.F. Alley, 1883], p. 235.)

The first Saint Matthew's had the familiar look of an English parish church, with its stone walls and Gothic arched windows. The History of San Mateo County (1883) indicated that it was the first "American" stone church in the state. (See The History of San Mateo County, [San Francisco: B.F. Alley, 1883], p. 235.) According to the congregation's web site: "The building's footprint was 40 by 75 feet with a seating capacity of 200 people. The new church was built of stone that came from the Howard estate, and its entry faced Baldwin Avenue with a north-south configuration. The nave was 48 by 36 feet, and the chancel was 12 by 24 feet. The ceiling was composed of native heart redwood. The organ and vesting room were located at the south end of the building. The nave windows were mullioned with geometric trace work headings. The chancel window at the south end of the church was created in Belgium and crafted and shipped from New York. The north window was made in Germany. The north end of the church housed a memorial chapel, and a massive marble monument was placed there in memory of William Davis Merry Howard by his widow and their son. The Howard monument stands today in its original position surrounded by the church that was rebuilt around it after the 1906 earthquake." (See "A History of the Parish of St. Matthew 1865-Today,"Accessed 03/12/2012.)

Demolished; the church was torn down due to damage sustained in the San Francisco Earthquake of 04/18/1906. A second Saint Matthew's Church opened in 05/1910. (See "Parish Missions Will Participate," San Francisco Call, 05/13/1910, p. 11.)

PCAD id: 5657