St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
In 1891 the only Episcopalians in Ft.
Pierce were Judge Andrew James Lewis and his daughter Rosa, John Hetherington,
Wallace Tolcher Harbin and Frank M. and Emaline Rachel (Smith) Tyler who operated the Fort Pierce Hotel. These friends held lay reader services in
the parlor of the hotel, the Masonic Hall and also the First Baptist
Church. At times the Venerable B. F. Brown, Archdeacon of this area, and
other clergy conducted the services. When the railroad came in 1894, more
and more Episcopalians arrived. Among these was Mary DeBogary a school
teacher who had come to Florida with her Russian parents in 1876. She married Edward Clarence Summerlin in 1897. Mary devoted
much of her energy toward the development of the Episcopalian mission in Fort
Pierce.
Those faithful pioneers who attended the early services
succeeded in acquiring a piece of ground, donated by Mr. A. C. Dittmar.
Located on the west side of Pine Street, which is now known as North Second
Street, between Palmentto Avenue (Ave. A.) and Moore's Creek.. With a little outside assistance and some local donations,
Frank Roylance a local builder was able to erect a church building which was completed in
1902.
With the consent of the
Bishop. Mrs. Tyler named the Church, St. Andrews. As the town grew, new
names were added to the congregation, among them the C. T. McCarty, the Tylander,
the Saunders and the Paxton families. On March 13, 1902, Bishop Gray and
Archdeacon Brown celebrated Holy Communion in the new building. In April
of that year the first child baptized was John Alfred Summerlin, the son of
Clarence and Mary DeBogary Summerlin.
In March
1905, Bishop William Crane Gray held the Easter services with the following in
attendance.
Mrs.
Almond
Mrs.
Cross
Mrs.
Geiger
Campbell
Gray
Mr.
& Mrs. Harbin
Miss
Hunter
Mrs.
Lardner
Miss
Moore
Mr.
& Mrs Nesbitt
Mrs.
Paxton
Mrs.
Sample
Mr.
Thompson
Mrs.
Tucker
Mr.
Tylander
Frank
& Mary Tyler
Mr.
Watts
Others
who attended services that week were:
Miss
Viola Cook
Mrs.
Halliday
Mrs.
Lane
Mrs.
Summerlin
A permanent rectory was purchased on the river front,
east of the old Fort Pierce Hotel. This property included riparian
rights. When a group of investors decided to fill in the river front east
of and adjacent to the rectory for the New Fort Pierce Hotel, St. Andrews joined
them and had land pumped in also. In 1922 the church became a self
supporting parish. In 1923 the church building was moved from where it was
built to a riverside location on the new fill. A parish house and rectory
were added in 1926; in 1933, the church building was enlarged, doubling the
seating capacity.
The first vestry or "Bishop's Committee" was
composed of W. I. Nesbitt, Senior Warden; W. T. Harbin, Junior Warden; W. E.
Tylander, Secretary and Treasurer. When the church first became a mission,
the Reverend Campbell Gray, son of the Bishop, had just been ordained, St.
Andrews was his first assignment.
Because the church expanded rapidly, the building became
too small to accommodate the congregation. and plans were made for the
construction of a larger one. Among the many influential parishioners was
State Supreme Chief Justice Elwin Thomas, and another Supreme Court Chief
Justice Alto Adams. The McCarty family has always been very active.
The late Governor Daniel
Thomas McCarty, was baptized there, served on the vestry and, after his
sudden death in1953, was buried from the quaint, little, old frame building.
Due to the continued growth of the parish, a campaign was
begun in April of 1956 for the erection of a new church building and the
purchase of additional land. Young Robert Terry, Jr. an architect, drew the
plans for the structure and ground was broken September 14, 1958.
Construction was commenced at once. The first services were held on Easter
Day, March 25, 1959. Some $200,000 was expended, not only on the new
church, but on the repair and redecoration on existing buildings.
Old St. Andrews, bereft of memorial organ and stained glass windows, was
presented to the Diocese, for use as a mission at Satellite Beach. On July
14, 1959, the frame building, which had served this community for fifty-six
years, was placed on a barge and towed up the Indian River. Moved some
sixty odd miles to its new location, where it was designated as "Holy
Apostles' Episcopal Church."
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