"Uncle Dan" Smith, a local African American religious leader constructed a thatch-roofed hut church on this site in 1886. Several white families, including Colonel Albert W. Gilchrist, who later became governor of Florida, were in attendance at the first service. The first permanent sanctuary, a wooden frame building, was built in 1897 but destroyed by Hurricane Donna in 1960. The building was replaced in the 1960s.

Information provided by Florida Department of State.

Photo of Governor Albert W. Gilchrist courtesy of floridamemory.com, image number N027089.