Old Christ Church, this parish's original home (built in 1832), still stands in Pensacola's historic Seville Square. After many years of ownership by the City of Pensacola and use as a library and a museum, the building is now owned by the Old Christ Church Foundation, Inc., and leased to the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board, an agency of the State of Florida. The building has been completely and beautifully restored with a combination of funding from the State and private local sources, and is now an exciting part of Pensacola's historic fabric.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OLD CHRIST CHURCH IN THE 19th CENTURY

Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when British rule supplanted Spanish rule, the Church of England was in the position of being able to send missionaries to the Pensacola area. That lasted only until Florida was returned to Spain in 1781. During those years the Bishop of London commissioned the Rev. William Dawson to bring the Church of England to Pensacola (July 2, 1764). The Rev. Samuel Hart was issued a license to work in Mobile and West Florida. The Rev. Nathaniel Cotton was licensed to work in Pensacola (June 10, 1770). The Rev. George Chapman was also sent here by the Bishop of London about the same time as the Rev. Nathaniel Cotton.

When the United States took possession of Florida in July 1821, religious freedom was granted. In 1827, the General Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church sent the Rev. Ralph Williston to Tallahassee. He proceeded by way of New Orleans and stopped off in Pensacola on his way to Tallahassee. He stayed three weeks. On June 4, 1827, he convened a meeting at the courthouse for the purpose of "embodying and collecting public sentiment upon the subject of establishing a Protestant Church." The Protestant Association was organized and the citizens resolved to unite to support a Protestant Episcopal Church. They consisted of Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Episcopalians. A vestry was elected composed of Henry Wilson, M.T. Woolsey, Silvester Bill, S.R. Overton, M. Crupper, John Jerrison, Sr. and Robert Mitchell. The "Pensacola Gazette" covered this in full.

Commodore M.T. Woolsey, commanding officer of the Navy Yard, was authorized to solicit subscriptions for the immediate erection of a church building. On October 14, 1829, the Protestant Episcopal Congregation of the City of Pensacola petitioned the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida to incorporate Christ's Church in Pensacola. Two days later, Governor William P. Duval approved the Act of Incorporation.

That same year, the General Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church sent the Rev. Addison Searle to be in charge of the parish and he was followed by the Rev. Benjamin Hutchins of Philadelphia. Mr. Searle began raising funds for the construction of the building. He obtained funds from the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church and from friends in Philadelphia. Tradition has it that Christ Church took its name from Christ Church, Philadelphia, where the Rev. Mr. Hutchins' father was Senior Warden. Christ Church, Philadelphia, gave the church a silver communion service.

The church building on Seville Square was started in 1830 and completed in 1832. The Rev. Ashbel Steele of Saybrook, Connecticut, assigned to Christ Church, arrived in 1832 to replace Mr. Searle. He brought with him $2,000 to pay off the debt on the construction of the church building. Total cost of construction was $4,500. It was Norman Gothic, built of brick and plaster with a two-tiered square tower ornamented with battlements and surmounted by a cross. There was an organ in the balcony and the pews had doors. The doors were removed by action of the vestry in 1858. The building had arched neoclassic clear glass windows and a fan light over the main door.

Tradition has it that the plan of the building was from a design of Sir Christopher Wren, maintaining that the same model was used for Christ Church, Boston, even though Christ Church, Boston, is a hundred years older than Christ Church, Pensacola.

It was not until 1836 that Christ Church had its own rector without financial support from the General Missionary Society. The Rev. Joseph Saunders served the parish until his death four years later of yellow fever at the age of 39. The Diocese of Florida was founded during Mr. Saunder's rectorship and Christ Church was one of the seven founding churches. On Shrove Tuesday, 1838, the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, Missionary Bishop of Missouri and Indiana, arrived in Pensacola and on Sunday, March 4, consecrated the church building.

Mr. Saunders is buried under the floor of the former vestry room. The Rev. Frederick Peake (1842-1846) died while rector and was buried alongside Mr. Saunders in 1846.

The Rev. David Dubois Flower (1853) died of yellow fever after being at Christ Church for only ten weeks and in the 31st year of his life. He was buried alongside Mr. Saunders and Mr. Peake. All three bodies were discovered in an archaeological dig in 1988 under old Christ Church.

The Rev. John Jackson Scott became rector in 1848 and stayed forty years with the exception of two years while he was a chaplain in the Army. With the advent of the Civil War, Dr. Scott took the congregation to Montgomery, Alabama and returned following the war to discover that the church building had suffered severe damage. It had been used as a jail, a hospital and a barracks by the Union Troops who dug up the caskets of the three priests buried under the floor. The archaeological dig determined that two of the three caskets had been opened and desecrated. They were reburied following the archaeological dig with more than 300 in attendance in 1988.

A major renovation of the building took place between 1878 and 1879 at which time the building was extended twenty feet at the west end of the church and a sacristy and choir room added. The organ loft was removed. The flat ceiling was replaced with Gothic arches. The tower was remodeled with four dormer windows. A new altar rail was added. New flooring replaced the floor damaged during the Civil War. The total cost of the project was $4,000 and the greater part was paid by the Ladies' Guild. Dr. Scott's report for 1879 to the Diocese of Florida states that he had a stained glass window, the "Light of the World," installed over the altar as a memorial to the late Rt. Rev. Francis Huger Rutledge, Bishop of Florida, who died in 1866 and was a close friend of Dr. Scott.

At this same time plans were underway for a new pipe organ to replace the one destroyed by the Union Troops during the occupation of the church and city at the time of the Civil War. But it was not until 1887 that a new pipe organ was purchased, made by Pilcher and Sons of Louisville, Kentucky. It was moved to the new church in 1903 and later sold to Gadsden Street Methodist Church.

The architect for the renovations of 1878-1879 was Charles Haight of New York City. Joseph Areson of Pensacola was the building contractor.

In February, 1884 the vestry authorized the rector to correspond with various stained glass manufacturers to replace the clear glass windows. Edward Colegate of New York was selected. The memorial windows would cost between $200 and $300 each and the other windows cost $100 each. Fourteen windows were ordered in July and an additional one was ordered in September.

In 1903, the congregation, under the leadership of the Rev. Percival Whaley, who became Rector in 1890 following Dr. Scott's retirement the previous year, left Christ Church on Seville Square and moved into its present home at the corner of Wright and Palafox Streets. The last service in the old church was on Good Friday. The first service in the new church was Easter Day.

Between 1903 and 1936 the building was vacant except for a period of time when it was used by Zion Chapel and later St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church.

During these years the building deteriorated, the windows were broken out, the pews disappeared. In 1935, the Bishop of Florida deconsecrated the building. And in 1936 the vestry deeded the building to the City of Pensacola to be used as the first public library. In 1959 the library had outgrown the building and moved. At that time the Pensacola Historical Society moved into the building.

By 1995 the church building was in a state of deterioration and the city had no funds for necessary repairs. The vestry of Christ Church, exercising the reverter clause which stated that if the city did not take proper care of the building it would revert back to Christ Church, reclaimed the building. The engineering firm of Baskerville-Donovan was employed by the vestry to make a detailed engineering study of the old building. It was determined that it would take $172,000 to bring the building up to code and an additional $380,000 to restore it. The Rector appeared before the City Council, and they voted unanimously to return the old church building to Christ Church at its regular meeting on February 22, 1996.

After the vestry regained title to the building, the Old Christ Church Foundation was established and the title to the property was deeded to the Foundation. Following a lengthy study it was determined that the Foundation Board would lease the building to the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board to be the centerpiece of the Historic Village and for the purposes of restoring and operating the old church building as a community center.

It should be noted that Old Christ Church is no longer a church with a congregation. It has not been since 1903. It was deconsecrated in 1935. It is now a secular building but an historic one, the oldest church building in Florida. Once it has been restored, it will be used for the entire community. It will be a town hall, a place for meetings, concerts, recitals, plays. It can be used for weddings for the entire community regardless of religion. It will be the center of the historic district and will be restored to its original beauty as it was in 1879 when it was enlarged and expanded.

Beverly Madison Currin

Home | Parish Information Page