Manhattan’s first Episcopal service was held in 1857, just three years after the city’s founding, and St. Paul’s formed in 1858 as the fourth Episcopal Church in Kansas.

Stone work for the building was complete by 1860, and the unfinished church was used for hay storage during the Civil War.

The first service was held in the finished church building in 1867; Manhattan’s first pipe organ was installed in 1878; a 1600-pound bell installed in 1884; and the rectory (now the Encore Shop) was completed in 1909.

St. Paul’s expanded its nave in 1930 to add what is now the choir and chancel areas, and the beautiful Christ window above the altar.

In 2009, the parish completed a major renovation of the nave and other spaces within the church building.