Trinity Episcopal Church is an historic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic or Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures ...
Episcopal
church located at 204 State Road 26, in the
Alachua County portion of
Melrose,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. It is a
contributing property in the
Melrose Historic District.
History
The history of the church began in 1881 when the first Episcopal service was held in Melrose. In April 1886 Trinity was organized as a mission by Bishop
John Freeman Young of the
Episcopal Diocese of Florida
The Episcopal Diocese of Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). It originally comprised the whole state of Florida, but is now bounded on the west by the Apalachicola River, on the north by the Georg ...
. Between 1885 and 1886 the 20 x 40 foot church was constructed by E. L. Judd, a local carpenter, who followed a design based on the work of architect
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...
. Bishop Young had known Upjohn when he was assistant rector of
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and en ...
and was a proponent of using Carpenter Gothic in church construction. Except for its glass windows and brick foundation piers and chimney, the building was built entirely of local pine. The siding is board and
batten
A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.
In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...
with both inside and outside battens. The chimney was removed 1887 in order to install a
pipe organ and to provide room for a sanctuary and a sacristy.
Current use
Trinity Episcopal Church has functioned continually as a place of worship since its founding. It was a Mission Church in the Diocese of Florida until January 31, 2010, when it was received by The Diocesan Convention as a Parish Church. The Church called its first full-time priest in the spring of 2008, and the Reverend Dr. Jeffrey A. Mackey began as Vicar on July 1, 2008. Upon receiving Parish status, the Bishop of Florida, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, named Father Mackey as Rector of the Parish.
Gallery
Image:Melrose Hist Dist Trin Episc02.jpg, Front detail
Image:Melrose Hist Dist Trin Episc03.jpg, Side detail
See also
*
Melrose Historic District
*
Trinity Episcopal Church (disambiguation) Trinity Episcopal Church may refer to various buildings and their congregations in the United States:
Alabama
* Trinity Episcopal Church (Mobile, Alabama), 1845, the first large Gothic Revival church built in Alabama
Arkansas
* Trinity Episcopal ...
References
External links
*
Churches in Alachua County, Florida
Episcopal church buildings in Florida
Carpenter Gothic church buildings in Florida
Historic district contributing properties in Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Alachua County, Florida
1886 establishments in Florida
Churches completed in 1886
{{US-anglican-church-stub