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Our History
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church is located in Fruitland Park, a small, historic community in Central Florida that predates the Civil War.
As Dorothy Goodnoh Paddock noted in the Forward of In the Beauty of Holiness—History of Holy Trinity Church, the history of Holy Trinity is a story “of sturdy faith, stable tradition and spirited optimism. . ., “
Holy Trinity’s ministry started in 1886, when much of Florida was still very much pioneer country. Throughout the 1880’s, many groups of settlers from the British Isles came to Central Florida to seek their fortunes. One such group of about 80 Englishmen put together by Grenville Chetwynd Stapylton, head of Stapylton & Company, settled on 160 acres of land around what is now Zephyr Lake in Fruitland Park. The land had been purchased from Henderson Tanner, a freed slave, for $250. The settlers built a large boarding house on the lake called Zephyr Hall, as well as a large stable. They reportedly enjoyed a carefree bachelor lifestyle, complete with dances, parties, horse-racing and hunting. Rumor even had it that some of the younger men were becoming too carefree and in need of a sobering influence.
In any event, as noted in Holy Trinity’s original Vestry minute book: “The want of an Episcopal Church and clergyman in the English Colony….had been for some time felt, and a movement had been made to obtain subscriptions to erect a church in the colony.” Their efforts to raise funds for a church were successful and Holy Trinity Church was constructed in 1888 for $2,150.
The construction style, known as “Florida” or “Carpenter” Gothic, was a modification of an English style adapted to the materials and conditions of the time and area. Sturdy and well-constructed, the church remains in service to this day. The first service in the new church was held on December 2, 1888, with the new rector, the Rev. Joseph Julian, conducting “ordinary Evensong at 3 pm” to a congregation of fifty, with an offering that totaled $4.96.
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