History ~
 Holy Cross Episcopal Church was established in 1873 at the direction
of General Henry Sanford. In 1870, the general purchased 12,547
acres on Lake Monroe near the village of Mellonville. He saw great
promise for this area as a port to supply south Florida. Lake Monroe
was the southern terminus for steamboat traffic on the St. Johns
River just 200 miles from Jacksonville. Steamboats could navigate
the winding river with passengers and freight. Henry, also saw
fertile land for growing citrus.
The general laid out the town,
which later came to be called Sanford. One of the first lots he
designated was for an Episcopal church.
This was the first Episcopal mission in Central Florida. The general’s
wife, Gertrude, took a great interest in the church and wrote letters
to her wealthy friends in the North to solicit donations for the
church. Money was raised and the church was built using plans by
Richard Upjohn, who designed Trinity Church in New York City. The
style was of Carpenter Gothic. The first rector was The Rev. F.R.
Holeman. The Church was consecrated on “Low Sunday’’ April
20, 1873, (the second Sunday in Easter).
In 1875, the Rev. Lyman
Phelps became rector of Holy Cross. He was General Sanford’s
friend and agent at the citrus groves known as Belair. Reverend
Phelps was a missionary holding services
in Ft. Reed, Maitland, Orlando, and Zellwood. Reverend Phelps planted
citrus trees on the church property to help sustain the parish
during difficult times.
In the summer of 1880 a devastating hurricane
destroyed the church and grove. Homes and groves all throughout
the county were torn
apart.
Rebuilding was immediately begun, and a modified Upjohn church
was completed in 1882 using materials where possible from the ruins.
Pictures of the sanctuary show a board and batten interior; the
altar, pulpit, and pews are of a rough-hewn construction.
The church
was described by Mrs. Sanford as “our dear little
church” when she again sought contributions from her friends
to rebuild the church.
In 1883 the Rev. S. B. Carpenter became rector.
In the diocesan records Holy Cross was reported having 42 families.
By
November of 1891 Holy Cross was again out of debt, and the second
church was consecrated by the third bishop of Florida, the Rev.
E. G. Weed.
The following years were difficult for the little church.
The back-to-back freezes of 1894 and 1895 left the groves and farms
devastated.
The church had no way of paying a regular priest. Fortunately,
many visiting clergy from the North and local clergy supplied the
parish.
In 1913, the Rev. Arthur Searing Peck was called to Holy
Cross. The parish house was built and dedicated in 1914. This became
the
community center for the city. The Brotherhood of St. Andrews Society
was formed and became a force behind this center. They had a library,
a bowling alley, billiards table and a “moving picture machine.”
On
November 27, 1923, another catastrophe occurred. A fire destroyed
the entire complex of buildings, all records and much of the furnishings.
Again
the congregation began making plans to rebuild. Architect Elton
Moughton designed the new buildings. It is pre-depression
Spanish architecture, considered to be an excellent example of
the period.
This time money for building was not the problem as
this was the 1920’s land boom years, so a grander, more elaborate
Holy Cross Church was planned to include a fully equipped parish
house
including kitchen, dining hall, library, and an apartment. The
interior details were considered to be of the finest of the period.
The outer coat of stucco on the buildings was originally a gray
stone “spatterdash” finish. The roof is red tile.
From
1930 to 1933, the Rev. Henry Louttit and then the Rev. Martin Bram,
1933 to 1941, guided the parish through the difficult years
of the depression. Both priests later became bishops of the Central
Florida Diocese. Holy Cross has the distinction of being referred
to as the “Mother Church of Central Florida.”
On October
4, 1941, Bishop Wing consecrated the present building. The Rev.
Frank Pulley was rector.
In the Chapel hangs a 19th century oil
painting by an unknown artist of the Crucifixion of Christ. General
and Mrs. Sanford gave the
painting to Holy Cross Church in the 1870’s. This painting
survived both wind and fire over the past 130 years.
The bell tower
was not at its present height until 1957 when its addition was
built. The bell named “Raphael” now rings
out for services. The Cassavant-Freres pipe organ was installed
in 1973.
Circa:
1925 - 1930 The flags hanging along the sides of the Church represent the
following:
Left front: American Flag
Left middle: Florida State Flag
Left rear: United Kingdom
Right front: Episcopal Church Flag
Right middle: Compass Rose to represent all of the Anglican Communions
of the world
Right rear: The Cross of St. Andrews, national flag of Scotland
The figures on each side of the altar are believed to represent
the following:
Upper left: Peter, holding the keys to the kingdom
Lower left: Moses, holding the tablets of stone
Upper right: Figure with two-edged sword represents the apostles
Lower right: Figure is holding scrolls representing the prophets
Photo credits: Florida Memory Project: The Florida Photographic
Collection of the Florida State Archives. http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/fsa.html
Researched & Written by Bette Skates, 2004
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