Covey Chapel

Covey Chapel, also known as Ratama and as St. Mary's, is on Farm Road 85 some nine miles west of Dilley in far southwestern Frio County. The community was the site of brush arbor meetings held by a Reverend Roberts who arrived on horseback. The cemetery and St. Mary's Church were started at the site in 1909 and 1916, respectively, on land donated by local resident Bernard Brown. In 1929 the community had a church and scattered dwellings. By 1936 the name of the community was Ratama; it had a church, two cemeteries, one business, and about ten dwellings. In 1947 St. Mary's Church was destroyed by a storm, and Masses were then held in the homes of Wesley Carroll and Hubert Dunn. By 1949 the community was known as Covey Chapel and as St. Mary's. In 1950 the newly rebuilt St. Mary's Church was again the religious center of the community. In 1974 very few dwellings remained around the church and cemetery. The Covey Chapel Cemetery and the St. Mary's Church and Cemetery were at the site in 1989.