Church of the Redeemer and English settler documentation in pioneer Avon Park
Popular local histories have long maintained two competing narratives regarding early Avon Park: that the town was settled by an organized “English colony” that named the settlement after Stratford-upon-Avon, and conversely, that the English colony was an entirely invented tradition without documentary support.[maxwell-1976] Archival research into the founding of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in 1894 clarifies the actual British demographic presence while explaining a persistent bibliographic error in modern secondary accounts.[maxwell-1976][mccarthy-2007]
Documented British Pioneers and the Episcopal Mission
While Avon Park did not possess a formal organized corporate English colony comparable to the Anglo-American agricultural ventures at Chetwynd (Lake County) or Narcoossee (Osceola County), early property records and ecclesiastical annals confirm the presence of British individuals who directly shaped the pioneer townsite:
- William and Mary Ann (Chinn) King: The town’s inaugural permanent homesteaders (arriving in 1884–1886) were born in Warwickshire, England.[maxwell-1976] Mary Ann King is historically identified in town annals as having suggested the name “Avon Park” to Oliver M. Crosby in honor of the River Avon and Stratford-upon-Avon near her English home.[maxwell-1976] The Kings were primary founders and patrons of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer.[maxwell-1976]
- John C. Davies of Wales: Land title records for the two prime corner lots at North Verona Avenue and East Pleasant Street document that they were originally purchased from the Florida Development Company by John C. Davies of Brouygader Delzelly, Wales, who resided in the settlement before returning to Wales in November 1889, after which the parcel was dedicated for the Episcopal chapel.[maxwell-1976]
- The Episcopal Mission (1894): Built under the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida, the Carpenter Gothic chapel at 20 East Pleasant Street provided an ecclesiastical home for these British and northern settlers, remaining the oldest standing house of worship in the city.[nrhp-avon-park-district][maxwell-1976]
Resolution of the McCarthy Citation Mismatch
A widely circulated modern Wikipedia citation attributes the claim that “English settlers founded and named Avon Park” to Kevin M. McCarthy’s 2007 volume, African American Sites in Florida (page 95).[mccarthy-2007]
Examination of McCarthy’s text reveals that page 95 contains a historical entry dedicated specifically to Mount Olive A.M.E. Church on South Delaney Avenue in Avon Park.[mccarthy-2007] McCarthy’s book focuses on Black cultural and heritage sites across Florida; the citation on Wikipedia represented an accidental bibliographic transposition where a citation intended for Avon Park’s African American heritage was misattached to the general lead sentence regarding English settlement.
References
- maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870-1970. 1976. the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md
- nrhp-avon-park-district — United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Avon Park Historic District. 22 March 1990. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/90000486
- mccarthy-2007 — Kevin M. McCarthy (Pineapple Press, 2007). African American Sites in Florida, page 95. 2007. https://books.google.com/books?id=AfricanAmericanSitesInFlorida
Related
- Entity: Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
- Entity: William and Mary King
- Report: The Naming of Avon Park and the Question of the English Settlers
- Report: Churches of Avon Park
Where this comes from
- Evidence
- corroborated — More than one independent source agrees.
- Review
- unverified — Drafted from sources but not yet checked by a volunteer.
- Rights
- society
Sources
- Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida: 1870-1970 (references/the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md) (1976)
- United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Avon Park Historic District (1990)
- Kevin M. McCarthy (Pineapple Press, 2007), African American Sites in Florida, page 95 (2007)
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