Early Churches and Religious Life in Avon Park

According to Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell’s historical documentation in The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida [maxwell-1976], religious faith was central to community life from the earliest days of settlement, with early services conducted in log schoolhouses, the parlor of the Verona Hotel, and non-denominational community churches before individual congregations erected permanent sanctuaries.

Union Evangelical Church, founded in 1892 on land donated by Oliver M. Crosby.[maxwell-1976]

The Union Evangelical Church (1892)

The first church organization in Avon Park was the Union Evangelical Church, established on September 11, 1892, with 34 charter members [maxwell-1976]. Oliver M. and Emma Crosby donated the land for the building site at a time when the town had approximately 100 residents.

The Reverend Francis Dwight Rood and his wife Annella, whom Crosby had met at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and recruited to Florida, served as the church’s first pastor and schoolteachers [maxwell-1976]. Max Wild and Edith Bennett were the first couple married in the sanctuary. In 1926, the congregation affiliated with the Congregational Christian denomination as the Union Congregational Church [maxwell-1976].

Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal), founded in 1894–1895.[maxwell-1976]

Church of the Redeemer (Episcopal, 1894–1895)

By 1894, many settlers from England who were communicants of the Church of England resolved to erect an Episcopal church [maxwell-1976]. The prime site selected was at the corner of North Verona Avenue and East Pleasant Street, owned by John C. Davies of Wales, who had returned to Britain in 1889. When William A. King wrote to Davies inquiring about purchasing the land for the church, Davies promptly executed and returned a warranty deed conveying the lots for $1.00 [maxwell-1976].

Founding members included William A. and Mary King, Chester Everton, Frederick and Eric Cheape, Fred S. Pryor, Caroline Putney, John Thwaits, Phillip DeHoff, and B. F. West [maxwell-1976]. The Reverend John Frederick Porter became the first rector in 1895. The original historic Carpenter Gothic sanctuary remains in active use [maxwell-1976].

First Baptist and First United Methodist Churches

• First Baptist Church of Avon Park: Organized in 1913 following a revival conducted by Rev. Elmer Albritton and Rev. Sam Durrance [maxwell-1976]. Services were initially held in the South Forest Avenue schoolhouse and a temporary tabernacle before the first permanent sanctuary was erected in 1918. The Reverend Aden D. Childress served as pastor from 1956 to 1979 [maxwell-1976].
• First United Methodist Church: Organized in 1914 with 11 charter members, including Charles Harris, B. H. Starkey, E. L. Hockersmith, J. H. Dutton, Leila Hagan, and C. E. Lanier [maxwell-1976]. The congregation met in an old tin skating rink until land was donated by C. E. Lanier and Chesley Skipper; the permanent cream-brick sanctuary opened on the first Sunday in May 1921 [maxwell-1976].

Other Historical Congregations

Maxwell’s chronicle records the establishment of numerous other faith communities [maxwell-1976]:

• Church of Christ (1917): Founded under Minister Clyde C. Conner, erecting its permanent building using lumber salvaged from the old schoolhouse following the 1926 hurricane [maxwell-1976].
• Church of God (1920): Organized on North Florida Avenue following a revival by Evangelist I. H. Marks of Kansas [maxwell-1976].
• Nazarene Church (1929) and Florida Avenue Baptist Church (1929) [maxwell-1976].
• St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church (1916): Founded under Rev. G. W. Epps as the first church in Avon Park’s Black community, initially holding classes for children after the closure of the Hagan Turpentine Still school [maxwell-1976].
• Avon Park Camp Ground (1939): Founded by Dr. H. C. Morrison (president of Asbury College), Dr. John A. Taylor, and C. E. Lanier, featuring a 750-seat tabernacle, dormitory, and trailer grounds for annual inter-denominational camp meetings [maxwell-1976].

References

• maxwell-1976 — Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell. The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida. 1976. the-first-hundred-years-of-avon-park_leoma-bradshaw-maxwell_1976.md

Related

• The churches of Avon Park

Where this comes from

Evidence

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Sources

1. Leoma Bradshaw Maxwell, The First Hundred Years of Avon Park, Florida (Held at the Avon Park Historical Society Depot Museum, Avon Park, Florida) (1976) · book

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