Trinity Episcopal Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic

Carpenter Gothic

Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...

 Episcopal
church located at 204 State Road 26, in the Alachua County

Alachua County, Florida

Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 227,120. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans...

 portion of Melrose

Melrose, Florida

Melrose is an unincorporated community in Alachua, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It lies approximately one hour's drive from Jacksonville and one half hour's drive from Gainesville.-History:...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a contributing property

Contributing property

In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...

 in the Melrose Historic District

Melrose Historic District

The Melrose Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in Melrose, Florida. It encompasses 1250 acres , bounded by Seminole Ridge Road, Grove Street, South Street, Quail Street, and Melrose Bay. It contains 65 historic buildings.-External links:* *...

.

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

John Freeman Young

John Freeman Young , translator of the Christmas hymn Silent Night, became the second bishop of Florida in 1867. He had earlier served as an ecumenical envoy to the Russian Orthodox Church.-References:...

 of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida

Episcopal Diocese of Florida

The Episcopal Diocese of Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America . It originally comprised the whole state of Florida, but is now bounded on the west by the Apalachicola River, on the north by the Georgia state line, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the...

. 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 the noted architect Richard Upjohn

Richard Upjohn

Richard Upjohn was an English-born 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 such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...

. Bishop Young had known Upjohn when he was assistant rector of Trinity Church, New York

Trinity Church, New York

Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...

 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

Batten

A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...

 with both inside and outside battens. The chimney was removed 1887 in order to install a pipe organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

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 revceived by The Diocesean Convention as a Parish Church. The Church called its first full time priest in the Spring of 2008, and the Rev'd Dr. Jeffrey A. Mackey began as Vicar on July 1 of that year. Upon receiving Parish Status, the Bishop of Florida, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Johnson Howard, names Father Mackey as Rector of the Parish.

External links

• Trinity Episcopal Church website
• Trinity Episcopal Church history