Despite modifications, the church, built by Shanghai Pierce, preserves the identifying features of the Southern vernacular church type, with its front-facing gable, central steeple, and centered front doors. Shanghai Pierce's biographer, Chris Emmett, quoted him as exclaiming, when asked if he belonged to the church, that no, the church belonged to him ( Shanghai Pierce: A Fair Likeness, 1953).
Gerald Moorhead et al., "Pierce Church", [El Campo, Texas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/TX-01-WD28.
Buildings of Texas: Central, South, and Gulf Coast, Gerald Moorhead and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, 455-456.
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