First located on 22nd Avenue S., St Bartholomew’s board & batten Florida Gothic structure was built by a handful of pioneers in 1887. Though it has been enlarged five times, the original building has been incorporated into the successive structures, and it remains the center of the present sanctuary, 130 years later.
Jerry Knight, a 50-year church member and local historian, leads tours of the historic building on Saturday, January 14th at 11am and again on the second Saturday of February and March.
Jerry recounts the early days of the church and community, the physical move of the church to its present location in the late 1960’s, and construction of the stained glass windows. There is no charge for the history tour, but participation is limited. To make reservations, call the Church Office at 727-867-7015 or email stbarts1887@verizon.net.
Sixteen years before the incorporation of Saint Petersburg as a city, a small group of friends and neighbors met to form an Episcopal Church. In April, 1887, before the first train arrived and the first building lots were plotted, one of the founding families, Dr. and Mrs. John Abercrombie, donated land for a church and cemetery. The tiny St. Bartholomew’s congregation solicited donations from family and friends in England and America, presented plays and hosted bazaars, and raised $673 to pay for the materials to build the church.
Even before the building was completed, the church helped found two other local missions referred to as “Disston”, near 49th Street S., and “Bayou”, later called “Chapel of the Holy Spirit”, in what was to become downtown St. Petersburg. The Disston mission did not survive the year, but Chapel of the Holy Spirit did and it was the precursor to St. Peters Cathedral.
The church was shuttered in 1910, as a majority of the congregation had moved closer to the downtown area, but in 1924, a number of former parishioners met to plan the re-opening of the church. So successful as this undertaking that the original Church was enlarged to make room for a choir, and a rectory was built at a cost of $7,000.
Sara Hall loaned St. Bartholomew’s the funds to permit construction, and on her death, the debt was cancelled. Membership fluctuated little until the mid-1940’s when another financial crisis almost shuttered the church again. After a stormy Vestry meeting, the decision was made not only to keep the church open, but to canvas the members to expand the church again. The beautiful stained glass windows, the round Rose window and the two flanking Sower windows were gifted during that time.
The congregation grew to its largest in 1959 with 762 communicants, and the building had been enlarged several times to accommodate them. A decade later, The New Hope Baptist Church offered to purchase the property, and the Vestry elected to sell the grounds and physically move the church, to land with better exposure on 34th Street S.
In 1969, the building was carefully disassembled, moved, and rebuilt, adding insulation and welcomed air conditioning to the structure. Construction of a parish hall, education building, and an enclosed courtyard followed.
“We are excited to open our church home to the community to explore Pinellas history right here in the Skyway Marina District”, says rector, The Reverend William V. Burkett.
“St. Bartholomew’s embraces the theme – God is Love; Love is Here; All are Welcome, and we look forward to welcoming you to our History Tours”. PN
Words By Jerry Knight