Melrose United Methodist Church

Melrose United Methodist Church was organized in 1868 as the Melrose Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The church building, the first within the original 1877 plat of Melrose, was constructed of heart pine by the congregation in 1879. Its bell, installed in the 1890s, alerted townspeople to fires, community meetings, the arrival of the steamboat from Waldo to Melrose Bay, and possible freezes for citrus growers, and it still calls people to worship. A parsonage was added in the 1890s for the circuit preacher, and a fence was built around the church to keep the hogs out. In 1895, kerosene lamps lit the church, and by 1919 gas lights had been installed, with young boys pumping gas into the fixtures from an outdoor tank before each service. In 1931, the west side was enlarged to include Sunday school rooms. After the Melrose school burned in 1947, the church served for two years as the school for first and second grades. Hagglund Fellowship Hall was built in the 1950s, and Holstun Hall was added in 1995. Throughout its history, the church has played an important role in the community and contributes to the Melrose Historic District.

Florida · United States